A deep dive into our latest projection with Brian Robinson.
As part of Vivid Sydney 2026, S1T2 collaborated with First Nations artist Brian Robinson to create Cosmic Chase, a large-scale projection artwork that blends and bends artistic practices, storytelling genres, and audience expectations. More than a spectacle of light and colour, the project became an opportunity to explore how site, scale and story can work together to expand an artist’s visual language.
Let’s look behind the scenes at how the work came together: how the site shaped the story, how Robinson’s intricate aesthetic was expanded to public scale, and how projection, sound and motion were carefully balanced to reward both fleeting encounters and deeper viewing.
Projection art shaped by an iconic Sydney location
When you’re doing large-scale public projections, you’ve got two choices: treat the location as a neutral surface, or respond to the specific features of the site. The former is undeniably easier. The latter is almost always a better result.
The roof of the Maritime Museum is a long, narrow projection surface. We wanted to lean into this, rather than ignore it. The idea of a ‘chase’ was perfect: a way to distribute action across a horizontal span. It gave us a relatively linear frame, along with the ability to expand and contract focus across that landscape.
The narrative was also shaped to deepen the relationship between artwork and place. The museum’s position over the water, combined with the projection’s reach into the sky, offered a rare opportunity to anchor the story in both ocean and cosmos.
Expanding artist Brian Robinson’s visual language
As an artist, Brian Robinson is perhaps best known for his intricate black-and-white linocuts that blend traditional knowledge, marine mythology and pop culture. Out of this, he has also developed a vibrant sculptural practice defined by unusual forms paired, striking colours and bold patterns.
For Cosmic Chase, our goal was to expand and reinterpret this artistic language – merging the precision of lino line work with the saturated colour palette of his sculptural practice. We also introduced an additional layer of motion and momentum, animating figures, patterns and symbols in ways that preserve the integrity of Robinson’s style while opening it up to new energy and scale.
From intricate detail to monumental form
A key challenge in creating this experience was balancing intimacy with spectacle. From a distance, Cosmic Chase needed to read as a bold, legible composition: strong silhouettes, clear motion and striking colour. Up close, or over longer viewing, we wanted the work to reveal its density: visual jokes, recurring motifs and finely detailed references that reward sustained attention. This dual reading allows the work to function both as landmark public art and as something to be slowly discovered.
Designing for light, colour + visibility at Vivid Sydney
As a public art installation at Vivid Sydney, Cosmic Chase needed to hold its own within a city saturated with light and colour. Our animation and colour treatments were developed specifically for large-scale projection to ensure clarity, contrast and vibrancy. Indeed, every decision – from line weight to motion speed – was tested to ensure the work remained visually powerful at festival scale.
Atmospheric soundscape offers an additional narrative layer
While primarily a visual experience, Cosmic Chase is supported by an atmospheric soundscape broadcast at key viewpoints across Pyrmont Bridge and King Street Wharf. Designed to complement rather than compete with the busy waterfront, the soundscape deepens immersion without demanding attention, guiding audiences through each era of the story through sound alone.
The soundscape moves through distinct sonic worlds: submerged underwater textures and the gentle rhythms of village life give way to upbeat mechanical pulses and pop culture motifs, before dissolving into the bright, pixelated tones of Atari-era games. The journey culminates in an original track by Elisha Umuhuri of Aboriginal hip hop group DEM MOB, whose music carries us toward the colourful climax.
A new platform for playful experimentation
Cosmic Chase is a rare opportunity to experience Brian Robinson’s intricate linocut aesthetic expanded to monumental public scale. It is, we hope, a projection that rewards both fleeting glances and extended viewing. An example of how immersive technologies can bring intimate stories and traditional practices to broader, more diverse audiences.
Brian Robinson’s intricate and inventive aesthetic, his practice of bringing both ancient mythology and contemporary fantasy into the same frame, has helped expand popular understandings of what Indigenous art can be. Cosmic Chase continues this legacy, while retaining the playful experimentation and joy that has equally come to define Robinson’s work.
