Illuminate Adelaide: EDEN
★★★☆☆
Known for its immense beauty and magic, the garden of Eden transformed beyond its biblical origins to deliver an interactive experience for all to enjoy.
As part of Illuminate Adelaide, one of the southern hemisphere’s biggest winter festivals, showcasing the relationship between light and art, EDEN invites audiences into its warm interior to explore a unique visual arts show.
Brought to Adelaide by the internationally acclaimed Berlin studio flora&faunavisions, its interactive lights show, located at the Light Room, acts as beacon for a fun family experience with its visual arts performance having an interactive spin.
The show, lasting for approximately 20 minutes, takes participants on a mesmerising journey as they use their hands to create sparkling lights on the screen walls, play games and feel at one within the lights.
In one show alone, the screens bounced between gardens of flowers, to blossoming Japanese cherry trees, to the calming autumn leaves we are currently greeted with outside. Within these colourful segments exist dark and light moments which add to the immersive experience.
One of the games, which was to trap bouncing dots in bubbles, proved to be a fan favourite amongst the kids.
EDEN | illuminateadelaide.com
The exhibition was already proving popular, with over 600 visits in one day (according their smart hand sanitisation station which recorded its uses) and a pop-up café acting as the perfect sensory safe space through its subdued lighting and atmosphere.
The event was also wheelchair accessible with a lift at the entrance.
One of the event workers, Arron, who helped support this exhibition, spoke about how great it was working with Illuminate Adelaide and the studio.
“Working here is an absolute joy, so many fantastic people who explored international art from a fantastic German company!”
“Working here is an absolute joy, meeting so many fantastic people who explored international art from a fantastic German company.
But, despite the surrounding digital beauty, the appeal did waver.
Perhaps the close association with other similar art pieces, such as Japan’s digital light museum, quickly made the experience rather repetitive, especially upon the 20-minute reset.
Noticeably, the room itself was small, with the 30 people present at the time of visiting making the space rather full. This made it difficult to participate at points. Also, the installations were spread out with some walls not being covered and acting as rest points for people, which while thoughtful again did take away from the experience. Another annoyance was the white building ceiling which distracted against the black and colourful room.
This sentiment was shared by on-goers who enjoyed the idea but were left wanting more.
“I think it’s pretty good, I love it. [However] we expected more installation”
“It’s pretty good, It’s confident, in the middle of the city, kids having fun.”
This isn’t to say the event was bad, but merely restricting itself to the small picture. If this event were to occur on a much larger scale next year, it would hands-down be a must visit attraction for everyone in South Australia.
However, for those looking for an indoor experience for the family, EDEN is for you!
EDEN is available from 4 to 21 July 2024 at the Light Room, tickets required.