At dusk, stroll down Glebe Point Road. You’ll hit Bicentennial Park, which has a great view of the Anzac Bridge. As you walk along the water’s edge, you will spot two giant Moreton Bay fig trees. Take a seat underneath and as the evening closes in, you will see the magnificent figs illuminated in a spectrum of colours responding to the setting sun.

This artwork called Earth V Sky is part of our public art collection, City Art. It’s powered by completely unique renewable technology, the development of which was carried out by the artist Allan Giddy, Director of the Environmental Research Initiative for Art (ERIA) at COFA UNSW.

Earth V Sky is powered by the City’s very first wind turbine, while a camera captures a small section of the sky about every 5 seconds. A computer calculates what the average colour of that particular ‘piece’ of sky is, shown in the ribbon slices, and then works out what the reverse colour is, projecting it by led lights onto the trees. This world-first, colour-sensitive light controller has been developed by the artist with the assistance of Mr Snow from the House of Laudanum – it’s a simple technical solution for a robust outdoor colour light control.

The work is subtle and specifically designed to be gentle on the surrounding ecosystem. It illuminates for about an hour every night and is one of our most treasured Sydney spots for a picnic at dusk.

You can read the artist’s statement and find more detail on the renewal technology at City Art.