In one week, an exhilarating new digital artwork, Lighting of the Sails: Opera Mundi by French artist Yann Nguema, will turn the curves of the Sydney Opera House into a canvas for the natural world as part of this year’s Vivid LIVE.
Oscillating between the monumental and the microscopic, Opera Mundi is an ambitious new visual experience by Nguema, who has earned international recognition for large-scale projections onto landmarks across Europe, Asia and the United States, making him one of the most compelling contemporary voices in digital and immersive art.
Working at the intersection of art and technology, Nguema codes his own software from scratch, deliberately eschewing artificial intelligence in favour of algorithms, mathematics and hand-built tools to explore the relationships between architecture, light and movement.
Produced by Nguema’s animation studioAnima Lux and scored by Romanian classical-electronic musician Mischa Blanos, the animations find inspiration in the elemental forces of sky, land and sea that shaped the Opera House itself and the vision of its architect, Jørn Utzon.
“Opera Mundi is a celebration of the beauty of the natural world that surrounds and inspires us – a world that must be prioritised and protected,” said Yann Nguema. “Images of great beauty are sometimes born from chaos and complexity that our minds alone cannot conceive. I seek to reveal them, without the aid of artificial intelligence, through my own hands and code.”
“When I started my large-scale practice ten years ago, the Sydney Opera House immediately came to mind as the world’s most iconic venue for projection-mapping. To me, it is such a distant place, such a demanding professional goal, that except in my dreams, I hadn’t even considered it until now,” said Nguema.
“Lighting of the Sails is one of Vivid Sydney’s most powerful shared experiences, and our collaboration with the Sydney Opera House continues to set a global benchmark for what large‑scale public art can achieve,” said Vivid Sydney Festival Director, Brett Sheehy.
“Opera Mundi is a mesmerising addition to this legacy and a work that showcases Yann Nguema’s meticulous, technology‑driven practice. While viewing this captivating work, audiences are invited to experience a sense of wonder and encouraged to reconnect with the world around them – a sentiment at the heart of the Vivid Sydney journey.”
Since 2009, Vivid LIVE, the annual centrepiece of the Opera House’s year-round contemporary music program, has celebrated cutting-edge and iconic artists who defy expectations and break new ground.
Curated for the 11th time by the Head of Contemporary Music Ben Marshall, Vivid LIVE at Sydney Opera House 2026 presents Australian exclusive performances, premieres, studio parties, one-off projects and unmissable performances from Australian artists, influential global acts, emerging voices and Sydney’s vibrant local communities.
Vivid LIVE at Sydney Opera House is the only time of year that the venue is turned over entirely by contemporary music and art – from its majestic theatres, foyers, studio and, most publicly, its iconic sails.
“Opera Mundi is an awe-inspiring invitation to stop and reflect on the beauty and power of the natural world. Nguema renders the intricate mechanics of living things – cells, patterns and organisms – in luminous, kinetic detail across the sails,” said Ben Marshall.
“It is a deeply symbiotic pairing as like Utzon before him, Nguema draws on the minuscule to exalt nature’s immense creative force, and in doing so he finds a profound dialogue with the building itself. We are thrilled to welcome Yann Nguema’s truly magnificent work to the sails for Vivid this year.”
Visitors who are blind or have low vision and their companions are invited to listen to a live audio description of the Lighting of the Sails, with sessions on Tuesday 2 and Thursday 4 June at 6.00pm. Registrations are free and essential.
Lighting of the Sails: Opera Mundi runs 22 May – 13 June 2026 (6.00 – 11.00pm). For more information, visit: www.sydneyoperahouse.com Vivid Sydney transforms Sydney into a vibrant hub of creativity, innovation and community connection from 22 May – 13 June 2026. For more information, visit: www.vividsydney.com for details.
Image: Lighting of the Sails: Opera Mundi by Yann Nguema (render)