Symphony of the Dreaming

Artist statement

Symphony of the Dreaming was a live music and light experience on the forecourt of the Museum of Sydney that explored the Aboriginal concept of Country and its relationship to light, rhythm, sound, energy and place. It was designed to immerse audiences in the natural ecologies of NSW, which have been observed, heard and deeply understood by Aboriginal people for millennia.

The work is a dynamic conversation between two Australian artists – Dharawal and Yuin Aboriginal artist Alison Page and creative technologist and composer Charlie Chan.

The Dreaming in the title refers to a time in the ancestral past when mythical beings imbued sites with perpetual energies, all of which are still continually activated as Aboriginal people move through Country today.

At Vivid 2025, audiences were able to gain a deeper understanding of the Dreaming through this experience, designed to deepen the connection between humans and the natural world.

The design of the illuminated forest of poles on the museum’s forecourt drew inspiration from the patterns in different Australian ecologies and their interaction, as the sound of Country was painted with rhythmic projections of colour and light.

The interactive, immersive soundtrack included more than 2,000 distinct field recordings captured over the past 40 years – in rainforests, temperate forests, along the coastline and underwater, as well as inside the human body and in the outer reaches of the cosmos.

Plus, in an extraordinary world first, Charlie Chan’s own original artificial intelligence, ChAI, interacted live with attendees as they moved around the space. Responding directly to proximity, ambient sound and movement, it enabled each attendee to become a composer of Country themselves, as they co-created their own unique music and light experience just by being there.

The artists collaborated with Dr Mark Dyson from DarkHouse on the lighting design; Tilt Industrial Design on the fabrication and installation of the poles; and Gumbayngirr, Dhungutti and Bundjalung performer Ben Ferguson on yidaki and other sounds.

Symphony of the Dreaming was proudly supported by the NSW Government through the Blockbusters Funding initiative.