White Night Melbourne 2018

It's one of my favorite events of the year - White Night Melbourne! This year the crowds seemed a bit smaller than in previous years (noting that I arrived around 1am). While there were some interesting works, I didn't feel this White Night was as strong as other ones I've been to. These were my highlights from the evening:

In the Queen Victoria Gardens was the whimsical Neon Dog Park installation by Carla O'Brien. People had lots of fun interacting with these glowing dogs.

There was a bit of a space theme in the Alexandra Gardens with the inflatable installations of the solar system La Terra Al Centro Dell' Universo by Namaste Europa and the spaceman coming out of the ground Calling Occupants by Felipe Reynolds.

Floating over the Yarra River were the illuminated birds of Le Bal des Lumineoles by Christophe Martine, which added some movement to the night skyline.

The Flinders Street light projections The Secret Life of Buildings by DAE White Night and The Electric Canvas highlighted different eras of pop culture. These projections were more static than in previous years, with the ones on The Forum being the best of the three buildings.

In St Paul's Cathedral was a fantastic piece by Victoria University's Skunk Control with Altar to the Future. It appeared to change colors due to the large rotating circular portal that you viewed the work through. It was exciting to see them have a piece at White Night as I've been such a fan of their windows at the Gertrude Street Projection Festival.

At the Melbourne Town Hall were more beautiful light projections by DAE White Night and The Electric Canvas to accompany the Guerrilla Opera performances by BK Opera on the verandah. It was a nice respite to stop and listen to them sing.

One of the most innovative pieces of the evening was PlusMinusZero by Alexander Mitchell. Incorporating projections onto a large paste-up mural in a car park off Lonsdale Street, you could download the EyeJack app to see the work come to life in augmented reality.

Inside the State Library Reading Room was another work by DAE White Night and The Electric Canvas called The Secret Life of Books, which showed what might happen to the books after hours in the library.

The site at Carlton Gardens expanded to include even more works this year. Phantasmagoria by Christopher Langton was a fantasy land of giant inflatable toys and animals as you walked toward the Royal Exhibition Building.

The highlight of the light projections was What If... on the Royal Exhibition Building by Limelight Projection Mapping. The 3D video mapped projection made it look like the building was changing shape and it raised the bar from previous years.

Finally, on the Melbourne Museum Plaza were two interesting pieces. One was The Serpent Mother by Flaming Lotus Girls, which was a reptile with a moving head that had flames coming out of its spine. The other was Birdmen by Close-Act, where these Technosauruses roamed around the plaza as the puppeteers on stilts interacted with people and each other.