Brisbane Powerhouse artistic director and CEO Kate Gould was interrupted by otherworldly sounds during her speech opening the venue’s Night Feast, but more on that later …
Set within the lush surrounds of the creative hub, Night Feast invites food and culture fans to dine under the stars by the Brisbane River. With dishes from 20 chefs and restaurants (foodie Lizzie Loel has curated the offerings), Night Feast is also a sumptuous feast for the mind and soul, as complementing the extraordinary culinary line-up is a rich program of free art and music as well as the city-wide Melt Festival of queer art and culture (October 23 to November 10).
Explaining all this, Gould’s brief speech was punctuated by otherworldly sounds, but she didn’t mind at all. The interjections came from a nearby artwork, a mesmerising light and sound installation called PING by artist Gijs van Bon.
PING is a dynamic light artwork that creates a unique connection between art and technology. Inspired by ancient communication methods such as smoke signals and drums, it features lanterns that transmit messages across 200 beacons along a 125m path. As sounds travel – from deep drumbeats to the gentle ring of a bell – they envelop the audience in a captivating atmosphere of vibrant light and sound.
In Chinese culture, thoughts and wishes are often expressed through physical gestures, such as releasing sky lanterns or striking a gong. PING modernises this concept with high-tech equipment using a wireless network to connect beacons and enable a rich flow of information. The sequential relay of messages mirrors the interconnectedness of a city map, illustrating the pathways through which communication flows.
It’s one of a series of artworks inside and outside Brisbane Powerhouse that will enliven your visit to Night Feast. Wandering through here is a relaxing and entertaining way to spend an evening.
Some of the artworks are on an impressive scale. Visitors will not be able to miss contemporary artist and designer Leeroy New’s monumental outdoor installation on the building’s façade, commissioned for Night Feast. The installation, called Balangay Spaceport, is created from locally sourced recycled, re-purposed and waste materials.
The Balangay, ancient boars of the Philippines, are reimagined as bio-synthetic alien forms seemingly phasing into the structure of Brisbane Powerhouse. The installation is made using bamboo, plastic discards and other found objects, representing the collision between traditional techniques and modern waste.
From the south of the Philippines, the artist grew up in a city that evolved from the fishing industry. His creative influences came from sci-fi films and animation and he has integrated his practice towards developing a distinct Philippine sci-fi language. This imagined world explores a scenario wherein the artist’s home country becomes the destination for the world’s trash and how its people may adapt to a hybrid ecology of plastics and nature, while intersecting with pre-colonial mythology.
And you can witness New’s otherworldly costume creations on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays during Night Feast as roaming artists from Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre curiously emerge to explore the site. You can’t miss them. They’re weird! But wonderful.
Night Feast also features a commission from Bidjara artist Christian Thompson, including a powerful large-scale photographic work, Maya Barbadi (Sacred Circle), mounted on the iconic brick exterior of the Brisbane Powerhouse building. It’s a portrait of sorts. Thompson challenges established narratives, shedding light on the intricate layers of identity within marginalised communities.
And don’t miss the opportunity to see select works from his oeuvre, transformed into larger-than-life installations throughout the city, including Bakery Lane, Shannon’s Building, Ann St Windows, Mater Windows and Princess Theatre. This project is supported by Tim and Gina Fairfax. Thompson says he thinks of his works “more as conceptual anti-portraits than self-portraits”.
“My physical head and shoulders simply provide a template, something that I’m constantly building on top of,” Thompson says. “I’m always looking for materials – what I’m reading or listening to, where I am. It’s very much connected to that kind of research, but it’s also connected to whatever is in the ether at that moment. I employ images, icons, materials, metaphors to capture an idea and moment in time. There are many different things at play. Taking a picture of myself is really the last thing that’s on my mind.”
Gould says Night Feast offers even more depth and exciting new layers this year with the addition of new restaurants and chefs, as well as the Melt Festival, transforming both the event and the precinct.
“Night Feast showcases our culinary artists but is also a celebration of creativity in all its forms,” Gould says. “With the addition of Melt Festival from October 23, it will be an exhilarating month of festival activity in Brisbane.”
You can also view TIDE by Spencer Tunick (in the Stores Building), a single-channel video exhibition of selected works from Tunick’s TIDE series made on his first visit to Brisbane on November 18, 2023. He visits again soon for his mass nude photo shoot on the Story Bridge.
Selections from Easton Dunne’s Welcome to Paradise 2023 and Main Drag 2023 can be viewed on the Turbine Platform inside the main building, while downstairs in the Fairfax Studio is an exhibition called Sunday’s Child by Hannah Bronte.
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Adding to the Night Feast ambience, the rhythmic beats of QUIVR DJs will keep the vibes high throughout the event. Safe to say it’s all happening at and around Brisbane Powerhouse right now. Enjoy.
Night Feast runs Wednesday to Friday, 4.30pm-9pm, and Saturday-Sunday, 3pm-9pm, until November 10. Entry is free and open to all ages.
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