Alexandria NSW 2015, Australia

Artwork Description

We would love for the weather to ultimately take the role of creator for High Water. If that’s the case, we’d hope that regular visitors to the site would be using and seeing those colours and recognising it as its own visual language. 

– Indigo Hanlee (2018)


Taking information from tides and local weather patterns, High Water transforms live data from each day into a constant moving watercolour. These striking colours are displayed on a 9 meter LED tower on the Green Square Plaza.

High Water interprets our changing physical world every minute of the day through changes in temperature, humidity, wind direction, precipitation levels and tidal patterns.

Using a mix of handmade watercolours and generative art, High Water provides a visual interpretation of our changing climate.

A complementary website allows visitors to understand the data, colours and patterns in real time and see visual summaries of local environmental conditions over the day, week and year. Access the visual record archive at www.highwater.sydney

ARTISTS

Indigo Hanlee and Michael Thomas Hill create digital media for public spaces. Working as part of the Sydney-based design studio Lightwell, they use new technologies to interpret the physical world.

Lightwell have worked with museums and cultural institutions across Australia, including the Australian Museum, Anzac Memorial Hyde Park, State Library of NSW, ACMI, the National Archives, the National Museum of Australia and many others.

The artists won the Chippendale World Art Prize for their work ‘Dyeing Breath’ in 2016, and have created other permanent artworks for both the City of Sydney and the City of Seoul.

Green Square Public Art Program

The Green Square Town Centre will have a role as the heart of an evolving inner-city region.

The City is responsible for several major projects in and around the town centre.

The integration of artworks is a priority to ensure an engaging and vibrant place for the local and new Green Square residents, workers and visitors.

Before being elected as a Councillor of the City of Sydney, Jess Scully was engaged as the Green Square Library and Plaza Curatorial Adviser.

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