We were immensely proud to work with the amazing Brian Robinson and the Jack Morton Worldwide team on the artwork design for the Parade Track for the Opening Ceremony of the XXI Commonwealth Games (2018).
As Brian Robinson explains:
‘Charting our place in the universe, is a large chart full of marine life and tales from the seven seas, tells an epic narrative that was developed for the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. The narrative encompasses the entire universe, both fact and fantasy, and starts with the creation of the pale blue sphere we call earth.
Our story begins in the islands of the Torres Strait. Like the astronomers of antiquity, the Islanders also looked towards the heavens for advice, only to be confronted with stars in the thousands that shone down upon them out of the blackness of the night sky — the blackness that is space. The stars appeared to be scattered haphazardly about in every direction and therefore appeared to be somewhat confusing, but after star-gazing for a while, their eyes could soon make sense of their apparent chaos.
These same stars that mark out the heavens are also navigational and environmental markers. Just as importantly, they are a source of artistic inspiration for visual, written and oral material culture for both indigenous and non-indigenous people and have been since the dawn of humankind. Through their connection to the land, the sea, and the sky, the Islanders of Torres Strait have been able to predict major social and seasonal changes to their environment, which is an essential part of the education of young children through storytelling. These lessons are interwoven through spiritual beliefs, songs, dances and stories.’