Ahead of the next major White Night Melbourne programme announcement, the spectacular project Molecular Kaleidoscope – ‘Virus one billion times’ has just been announced at the State Library of Victoria.
The State Library of Victoria will be transformed into a biomedical visualisation through the animation of Drew Berry’s Molecular Kaleidoscope – ‘Virus one billion times’ on Saturday 22 February 2014.
The La Trobe Reading Room in the State Library will showcase the work of Melbourne local and BAFTA and Emmy Award winning artist Drew Berry, one of the world’s leading animators working in biomedical visualisation.
“We are really excited to have Drew Berry’s Molecular Kaleidoscope – ‘Virus one billion times’ installation projected on the ceiling of our iconic domed reading room,” said CEO and State Librarian, Sue Roberts.
“The way in which Berry depicts the molecular world is really quite beautiful. This is going to be an extraordinary installation and something very unique for our audiences to witness.”
“Molecular Kaleidoscope – ‘Virus one billion times’ speaks to the sometimes strange beauty of the unseen world within our bodies and the twitchy, brownian world of molecules. Drew’s innovative work is a fusion of science and art,” said White Night Melbourne Artistic Director, Andrew Walsh.
With a musical score by multi-award winning Australian composer (Wolf Creek) and producer (Goyte, Kimbra) Franc Tétaz, the dome ‘lens’ will transform into the outer coat of a giant 40 metre virus hovering just above the dome.
Molecular Kaleidoscope – ‘Virus one billion times’ will cycle through a selection of high human impact viruses such as influenza, HIV, polio, SARS and smallpox. Each will hover above the dome for 60 seconds before moving up and away into darkness, to be replaced by the arrival of another virus.
With works exhibited at Centre Georges Pompidou, MoMA, Guggenheim Museum, the Royal Institute of Great Britain and the University of Geneva, Drew Berry has collaborated on music video campaigns with Björk and documentaries with the BBC and American Museum of Natural History.
White Night Melbourne 2014 programme will deliver more than 80 free cultural events with activities and acts across dozens of sites. Over 12 hours from 7pm to 7am, visitors can participate in exhibitions, street performances, fashion, lighting installations, film screenings, multimedia projections, concerts, dance and interactive events in venues, public spaces and cultural institutions throughout the city.
For further information on Molecular Kaleidoscope or any other White Night Melbourne 2014 events, visit: www.whitenightmelbourne.com.au for details.
Image: Molecular Kaleidoscope – ‘Virus one billion times’ – Drew Berry