Review: Lightscape at Kings Park and Botanic Garden
Lightscape at Kings Park and Botanic Garden
Wednesday, July 12, 2023
8/10
A multi-sensory illuminated delight awaits visitors to Kings Park & Botanic Gardens this month as the internationally acclaimed Lightscape experience bathes the beloved parklands in light, colour and sound from Wednesday to Sunday until July 30.
Shuffling alongside hundreds of other Perth punters, wrapped up against the brisk evening chill, towards a neon ‘Lightscape’ entrance, the acclaimed experience wasn’t immediately visible from the modest entranceway.
However, walking ever further into the event area, neon-lit silouettes of towering trees and a wash of atmospheric, experimental soundscapes slowly crept forward; an impressively constructed and brightly coloured introduction to an evening of diverse and attention-grabbing artistic installations.
A single-directional, curated path through the gardens led visitors along the iconic glass bridge, through several of the gardens’ best-known memorials and botanical features, and along its idyllic waterways. Along this winding path, visitors encountered stunning small and largescale illuminated installations combining elements of neon lighting, fire, lasers, models, fairy lights and colourful bulbs, blinking, shining and pulsating to a calming, otherworldly soundscape.
The Botanic Gardens, with their wide-open spaces, beautiful showcases of Western Australian flora, and reliably impressive views of Perth’s cityscape were a fantastic location for the Lightscape installation, particularly as so many of the lights referenced floral patterns, shapes and designs.
Despite the event being ticketed with specific timeslots throughout the evening, and Wednesday’s session not being sold out, the volume of visitors was quite surprising. Throughout the experience, at least for the first three quarters, visitors were largely shuffling through the experience in a condensed crowd, shoulders pressed together, with frequent moments of stopping and slowness as those in front paused to enjoy the experience. While, importantly, the installations were large enough to appreciate across the large and packed space, it was sometimes difficult to enjoy the different displays in detail, or find a moment and space to take a quick picture.
From an accessibility perspective, pains were clearly taken to provide wheelchair access throughout the experience (with plastic flooring brought into even pathways through gardens and mulched areas, however some of the path was still uneven wood pulp and varied often in incline). The general visibility in showcased areas was also sometimes poor, in terms of being able to see the path ahead (particularly when lighting was positioned above, or in the bushes along the path) – visitors concerned about the visibility may want to bring a small torch.
While the crowd was full of delighted little faces excitedly experiencing the washes of colour, it would have been great to see some family-friendly activities, stations, or tactile areas where children could get more closely involved in the action, particularly as a child’s ticket cost as much as an adult, with a family of four costing $136.00 for a weekday evening ticket.
Overall, Lightscape delivered a colourful wintery neon wonderland that many summer-loving Perth punters have clearly been missing in the throes of this particularly dark winter.
BEC WELDON
Photos by Matt Jelonek
