Tangkuinyendi Yabarra – Dreaming Light

Who

Adelaide Fringe

What

Architectural Storytelling

Where

North Terrace Cultural Boulevarde, Adelaide

When

Fringe 2016, 2017, 2018

Tangkuinyendi Yabarra translates as Dreaming Light in the Kaurna language. The Kaurna Aboriginal people are the traditional owners and cultural custodians of the Adelaide plains area.

This architectural projection and placemaking project was a cultural and artistic collaboration between Yellaka Dance Group, illuminart, SA Museum and the State Library of South Australia, commissioned for the Adelaide Fringe 2016. A Kaurna shield held in the collection of the South Australian Museum was the starting point for the project, enabling the team to collaborate in telling old stories in new ways.

Be sure to get down there and let your kids do some dreaming about the oldest living culture in the world – they too can help carry traditional Kaurna stories into the future. There is also an interpretive trail that tells the Kuarna stories that are so vividly and movingly lit by the very clever projection artists at South Australia’s illuminart.

Kids in Adelaide
  • Storytelling projection onto the Mortlock Wing, representing the cultural stories including the Kaurna shield, local trees, stones and the river.
  • Storytelling projection featuring historic etchings revealing the earliest interactions between Kaurna people and settlers.
  • Crowds enjoying the Tangkuinyendi Yabarra projections on opening night.
  • Crowds enjoying the Tangkuinyendi Yabarra projections on opening night.
  • Images of Kaurna warriors reclaiming their culture and passing on knowledge, wrapping around the Mortlock Wing.
  • A symbolic projection of the living heart of Kaurna country, combining performance and graphic art.
  • Projection and performance together at the commencement of the Adelaide Fringe 2016.
  • A photo of Paitya dance group and the illuminarty, following the Sunset Ceremony opening Adelaide Fringe 2016

  • More info

    The audience were drawn to discover constellations, cultural symbols and memories embedded in the beautiful projections wrapping the Institute Building and the Jervois Wing of the State Library of South Australia. The stories were shared through cultural markers on the projection towers, each with a unique set of stories and information.

    The cultural symbols and rituals carefully interwoven within the architectural projections represented a way of living and cultural beliefs that are thousands of years old. This rich visual story was overlaid within contemporary spaces and on iconic buildings in a form of bi-cultural placemaking. As the moving image and music composition wrapped warmly around superb sculptural forms it was breathing life and significant cultural memories into Adelaide’s colonial architecture while revealing stories of the ancient past in a peaceful, reflective and respectful way.

    The story and images were created in a consultative and collaborative process directed by Karl Winda Telfer (Kaurna Co-producer Adelaide Fringe) and Cindi Drennan (illuminart) who guided the teamwork between illuminart digital media artisans and Kaurna people in Adelaide.

    The project has been presented several times – During Fringe: 12-28 February 2016;  14-16 February 2017; 15 February-18 March 2018; During Tourism Showcase: 17 April 2018.

    If this work inspired you, have a look at Reverse Dreamtime at Kaleidoscope Festival.

  • Project Team

    • Cindi Drennan Projection Artist / Project Director
    • Karl Telfer Kaurna Cultural Custodian / Collaborator
    • Yellaka Dance Group Cultural Ritual Performers
    • Pete Berthet Animator and Compositor
    • Andy Petrusevics Artist and Animator
    • Luku Kukuku Animator
    • Andy McIntyre Technical Production Manager
    • Craig Williams Technical Director (Mosaic AV)
    • Steve Tilling Technical Director (Mosaic AV)
    • Michael Selge Photographer
    • Craig Laurendet Photographer
    • Zero Photographer
    • Samantha Ray Composer
    • Tracy Bell Public Relations and Text
    • Letisha Ackland Production Coordinator (Fringe)
    • Julianne Pierce Creative Producer 2016
    • Hugh Covill Technical Director (Fringe)
    • Aden Beaver Illustrator and Digital Assistant

  • In the Media

  • Project Data

    Project ID # 1073, 1103, 1133, 1145

    Project Type:
    Cultural Collaborations