On 26 January thousands of spectators flocked to the Darling Harbour precinct to celebrate the founding of the Port Jackson settlement in 1788. The merriment culminated in a multifaceted choreography of lighting, lasers, fire and water, which climaxed in a magnificent fireworks display.
"The Sharpys are awesome," comments Collison. "They're small and extraordinarily bright, which made them absolutely ideal for this project for a number of reasons."
Collison's brief was to build a small cityscape on a barge in the centre of Darling harbour. "We designed a cylindrical video screen surrounded by a number of towers," he explains. "This gave the illusion of a cityscape, particularly when it was dark. We staggered the hanging height of the Sharpys from the lowest point on the barge floor to the highest point on the central tower, a cool 23 metres high, which looked spectacular. This gave us a great expanse of height to play with. The design became less about delivering a searchlight effect and more about playing with the vertical plane."
"It's great to see the Sharpy being used in such a creative way and as part of such an uplifting and celebratory project," says Pio Nahum, chief commercial officer for Clay Paky. "Running at 189W and weighing in at just 16 kg there's always room for a Sharpy in any lighting rig. The fixtures produce a sharply defined beam, free of any edge halo or discoloration."
(Jim Evans)
