The giants set to watch over Melbourne for this year’s Firelight Festival

This weekend, Docklands will be overtaken by giants. A 12-cubic-metre cross-legged man will tower above Victoria Harbour, while an array of massive humanoids will watch over passing Melburnians.

These giants are the work of internationally renowned Tasmanian artist Amanda Parer, who has brought her illuminated inflatable structures to Melbourne’s Firelight Festival for the first time.

Amanda Parer’s Man installation uses scale, light and contrast to get us thinking about our relationship with the natural world around us.

“People will see [the structures] from afar, and hopefully think, ‘wow, this really changes what’s usually here’. It’s exciting, a bit of fantasy,” she says.

As big as they are in size, they’re also big in ideas. Since visiting the Galapagos Islands in 1995 as part of a documentary crew, Parer’s work has explored our relationship with the natural world, encouraging viewers to consider their impact on the surrounding environment.

Man, the enormous cross-legged entity, was inspired by Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker. Parer has updated the iconic piece, positioning him with his hand over his eyes as he contemplates what went wrong.

“When Rodin made his sculpture, he was celebrating man’s form and man as a pursuer of enlightenment. I’ve essentially made him or her ponder what went wrong after we’ve overindulged a bit too much.”

It will be the first time this mammoth installation – which plays with scale, light and contrast – has been shown in Melbourne, having previously been erected in Dubai, Finland, Detroit and Tasmania’s Mona Foma festival.

Fantastic Planet, meanwhile, shows several large humanoids who keep humans as pets. These giants will watch over festival attendees as they take part in interactive activities below. Inspired by the 1973 Czech-French animated film, Parer says her rendition aims to encourage humility.

“We’re the apex predator of the planet and I think we’re extending ourselves too much in that role,” she says. “I understand these ideas can be dark, but I like to instil hope and humour into my work as well … Hopefully, visitors will join the dots and put their own ideas together around what the work means. But if they walk away with a sense of fun alone, that’s wonderful too.”

Benjamin Kloester from FireLily Dance will feature his flame dragon wings for the first time at this year’s Firelight Festival.Credit: Simon Schluter

Parer’s structures are the newest drawcard for the Firelight Festival, Melbourne’s free-entry winter event. Between July 4 and 6, Victoria Harbour will be illuminated with fire-pits, flame jets and fire arches. Nearly 50 fire artists, dancers and musicians will also perform, including the FireLily Dancers, sea shanties singers Nauti-Celts, and the giant bubble-blowing Becky Bubble.

Since launching in 2017, the three-night winter festival has expanded significantly. Alongside Parer’s structures, this year’s event will also debut the Light the Night Boat Display, in which boat owners will be invited to decorate their vessels with lights.

Lord Mayor of Melbourne Nicholas Reece hopes these new features will see the festival nearly trebled in attendance since that first year, which drew over 30,000 people. “We’re expecting more than 80,000 people to join us for this epic winter celebration ... delivering a $6 million boost to the local economy,” he says.

The Firelight Festival is a free event that will take place in Docklands between 5pm and 10.30pm from July 4 to 6. Sunday will run from 5pm to 10pm.

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