You'll Soon Be Able to Wander Through a 700-Square-Metre Kaleidoscope Outside Brisbane Powerhouse
After 'House of Mirrors' and '1000 Doors', installation artist Keith Courtney now wants you to mosey through a huge expanse of glass, steel, mirrors and moving prisms that resembles a human-sized kaleidoscope.
Thanks to Keith Courtney, Brisbanites have already been able to walk through a huge house of mirrors in the past few years. And, with his help, moseying through an eerie and endless labyrinth of doors became a reality, too. The Melbourne installation artist isn't done setting up massive mazes just yet, however — and his latest is designed to resemble a huge, human-sized kaleidoscope.
Called Kaleidoscope, fittingly, this installation isn't small. It's a 700-square-metre expanse of glass, steel, mirrors and moving prisms that features a labyrinth of corridors decked out in a revolving showcase of lights and colours. Originally debuting in Melbourne for the city's Rising Festival, and still on display there now until mid-July, it'll start shimmering and luring Brisbanites on Brisbane Powerhouse's Performance Lawn for two months between Friday, August 12–Monday, October 3.
Like both House of Mirrors and 1000 Doors, Kaleidoscope has been crafted to be immersive as possible. Expect to have your senses disoriented while you're strolling through, including both motion and gravity. Expect to see plenty of shifting illusions among the ever-changing array of light and colour as well, and to be drawn in by the installation's soundscape in the process.
"No one will have the same experience in Kaleidoscope – this is a multi-sensory and at times physical experience where the visitor is completely submerged in sound and light – a vortex of serenity to somewhere or nowhere," explains Courtney.
In bringing the massive piece to life, the artist has teamed up with visual artist Ash Keating, composer Tamil Rogeon and artist Samantha Slicer, plus a team of highly skilled technicians.
Tickets to Kaleidoscope will cost $16.50, and will go on sale on Tuesday, June 28. It'll head to Brisbane in association with Brisbane Festival and, although only making its home there temporarily, it marks one of four big new additions to Brisbane Powerhouse in the coming months. The New Farm venue is also set to launch a permanent outdoor cinema and a glow-in-the-dark performance venue this spring, plus a twice-yearly night food market from March 2023.
After hitting Brisbane, Kaleidoscope will then take an international tour. House of Mirrors premiered at MONA's Dark Mofo in 2016, then headed to 12 cities across the globe, while 1000 Doors debuted at the Melbourne International Arts Festival, then went on a 10-city tour of Australia and New Zealand.
Find Kaleidoscope at Brisbane Powerhouse's Performance Lawn from Friday, August 12–Monday, October 3 — open from 2–9pm from Wednesday–Thursday, 2–10pm on Fridays, 10am–10pm on Saturdays and 12–2pm Sundays. Tickets will go on sale on Tuesday, June 28.
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