Last Friday night, just as dusk was descending across Sydney, the city flicked the switch and Vivid 2025 came to life. First came the fireworks, centred on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and then hundreds of installations from the east to Barangaroo emerged from the dark.
At the top end of Walumil Lawns, with the harbour and passing boats in the background, the lights flickered on in an enclosed hexagon to reveal an aerial silk artist slowly descending to a pulsing music track.
Video projections on the outside of the hexagon show a narrative of the formation of the world, with liquid lava forming until we reach a point where everything is blossoming with life and colour.
What we are watching is Endling, Legs on the Wall’s new contribution to Vivid Sydney.
A year in creation, it’s one of the few Vivid installations to actively feature a human component and represents a fast-tracked view of the evolution of the Earth and the impact of our own interactions on its development.
Are we in charge and thoughtful enough to control our future? Or will we give into our predilection for self-destruction is what Endling is asking of us.
The artist’s statement from Legs On The Wall’s Creative Director, Joshua Thomson, says “At the heart of the performance is an invitation to determine what happens to this ‘specimen’ and, in making that choice, reflect on how we are routinely making decisions for future generations”.
This is not a work of scale such as we have come to expect from Legs On The Wall, who we usually associate their performances on the scale of Olympic stadiums – it’s more in keeping with the intimate, reflective side of the company’s practice and works such as THAW.
Endling is intimate and personal; its smaller scale does not diminish the artistic achievement nor affect the message that it’s imparting: the future of the planet will be made up the sum of our personal choices and we are at a tipping point, right now.
Read: Performance review: Night Night, Alexander Theatre, The Ian Potter Centre for Performing Arts
Repeating the 45 minute performances five times a night for the duration of Vivid Sydney, the performance calls on four artists rotating over two nights to keep the show going.
Endling is located at the top end of the Walumil Lawns, Barangaroo Reserve.
Endling
Legs on the Wall
Vivid Light Walk
Creator and Director: Joshua Thomson
Apparatus: David Jackson
Video design: Susie Henderson
Lighting design: Matt Cox
Composer. Sound design: Maddy Briggs
Performers: Ellen Bailey, Craig Bary, Jana Castillo, Romain Hassanin
Production manager: Matilda Press, Bella Thompson
Project manager: Stephanie Tatzenko
Free performances are from 6pm-11pm until 14 June 2025.
