aeolidida

‘aeolidida’ may not be the easiest of words to pronounce. It’s not a familiar looking word. It’s a bit of a tongue twister but has a nice round sound to it, and it feels good when you write it by hand. The word offers up abstract and fictional associations, but it also refers to a real-life species of soft bodied sea creatures, more commonly known as Sea Slugs. These creatures, which inhabit all the oceans of the world, often present themselves in the most fantastic, elegant forms and vivid colour patterns. This is something that they themselves may not be able to appreciate, given that their eyes are so small that can probably only see dark and light tones. They make up for this lack of sight with other more sensitive sensory organs (that of touch, smell and taste). They are hermaphrodites, containing both male and female sexual organs, and most of them can regrow their head if it comes off. Nice.

As a sculpture made specifically for the 50th anniversary of Adelaide Festival Centre, its site specificity relies largely on it being in contrast to its surroundings, a kind of organic alien form within an otherwise urban environment of geometry and functionality. Its textured and patterned skin is an accumulation of haptic memories and sensations. For a form made of concrete, it presents itself as relatively lively, free-forming and in a state of flux. Its extrusions, or ‘branches’ are upward and celebratory in gesture, resonating with memories of the very first public performance given in the Festival Theatre. The glowing rhythm played out in these branch forms is a luminescent visual echo derived from the sounds of Beethoven’s Fidelio which was played here 50 years ago.