Sun and Air

During the Commonwealth Games, the city of Melbourne had heaps of free stuff to do as part of the Melbourne Festival 2006.

The coolest thing I went to see during the festival was the Luminarium.



It is an art installation (this one called Levity II) by the Architects of Air, who make these glorious structures that play with light and color to create a walk-in experience. That's right, a walk-in experience. At the entrance we removed our shoes and went into this giant inflatable piece of art, and just explored the rooms and the colors.



There was a central room with a domed cieling, and 4 adjacent rooms, one green, one blue, and the room called the tree, pictured here:



All of the light and colors in each of the rooms is created by the sun. We were the last group of people in the luminarium that day, so the sun was low in the sky. Its light became concentrated and focused through the opening of the branch of the tree and onto the other side of it.

Everyone was encouraged to take their time enjoying the colors and to find their own chill space to sit and enjoy their surroundings.



I liked the blue stripe in one of the alcoves of the red room, but our bags prefered to sit a bit more in the centre of the room.

The red room was the most western facing of the colour rooms, and thus it was the brightest of them all. I was fascinated by all the different rooms and designs. I could have spent a whole day in the space, watching how the colors change as the sun progresses across the sky.

I took many, many pictures of the amazing colors in the Luminarium, you can see them here.

It was awesome, literally awesome. I wanted to stay in that place forever. It was so bright and colourful, and yet relaxing and mellow. If one of these things comes to your town, don't miss it!