Enchanted Valley at the Museum of Sydney

The Paradise on Earth exhibition at the Museum of Sydney incorporated an immersive environment called The Enchanted Valley.  Created by illuminart and the Sydney Living Museums exhibition team, Enchanted Valley was a digital reimagining of Castlecrag’s Haven Amphitheatre that captured the colours, textures and changing moods of the Australian bushland, interpreting the artwork of Marion Mahoney Griffin in an delightful format for families.

Celebrating Mahony’s fascination with and deep respect for the natural environment, the digital day/night sequence drew on the colours and linework of Mahony’s evocative Forest Portraits in unexpected and playful ways. Visitors were also able to participate in the Forces of Nature activity hub, adding to the collaborative bush artwork and discovering more about Mahony’s belief in the forces that shape and build our natural world.

a key innovation of the Museum of Sydney’s exhibition ... [Enchanted Valley] makes it possible to grasp in an intuitive, rather than pedagogical fashion, the visionary intent at the heart of the Griffins’ planning and design ethos.

Ella Mudie, Foreground