The ocean has a way of speaking to us—not in words, but in colour, memory, and emotion. At The Heritage Collective Cottesloe, Perth artist Elle Campbell transforms that conversation into something luminous and undeniable with D O L P H I N, a sweeping new exhibition that captures the emotional pull of the Indian Ocean and the layers of meaning it carries.

The Vision: Ocean, Memory, Light

Elle painted this series in the Makerspace studio at The Heritage Collective, drawing raw inspiration from the coastline that stretches from Fremantle to Scarborough. Across more than 25 works on linen and birch, her expressive style erupts in bold colour, layered abstraction, and shimmering textures. The work is both deeply personal and universally resonant—an invitation to audiences to reflect on memory, change, and the magic of the sea.

But how do you illuminate art that’s already alive with movement and emotion? That’s where the challenge… and the magic begins.

From Canvas to Light Art

At Elite Lighting, we knew this wasn’t just about lighting a gallery space. It was about complementing Elle’s intricate artwork through the strategic use of light itself, turning her pieces into light art. Working closely with Elle and the entire team at Assembly and Co, we collaborated at every stage from concept through execution to design and implement a full lighting, audio, and power infrastructure that would enhance, rather than overwhelm, the vision we were all building together.

What We Delivered

• Custom Lighting Design: Precision accent and ambient lighting that brings out the depth, texture, and emotional resonance of each work—the bold colours pop, the layered abstractions breathe, and the shimmering finishes come alive
• Audio Integration: Immersive soundscape that anchors visitors in the ocean’s presence, amplifying the sensory experience
• Power & Infrastructure: A seamless, invisible backbone that keeps the exhibition running flawlessly, from opening to closing

The goal was simple but demanding: light the art in a way that feels natural, inevitable—as if the light itself is part of Elle’s vision, not an afterthought.

The Result: A Luminous Experience

When visitors walk through D O L P H I N, they’re not just seeing paintings. They’re stepping into a space where light, colour, and memory converge. The exhibition invites them to linger, to feel the pull of the ocean, to sit with their own reflections.

Why This Matters to Us

At Elite Lighting, we don’t just supply equipment. We collaborate. We problem-solve. We think cinematically about how light can transform a space and deepen an audience’s connection to the art in front of them.

Elle Campbell’s D O L P H I N is exactly the kind of project that reminds us why we do what we do: to help artists realise their vision, to turn a gallery into a portal, and to prove that lighting design is itself an art form.

D O L P H I N at The Heritage Collective Cottesloe | Lighting, Audio & Power by Elite Lighting Australia

Transform · Transcend · Transport

Overview

The Perth Italian Festival brought a full-scale celebration of Italian food and culture to Perth, drawing a crowd of over 20,000 people across a single day.

Elite returned for a second consecutive year as the festival’s lighting, trussing and rigging partner, engaged to deliver site-wide infrastructure alongside three standout features: a custom-built Trevi Fountain centrepiece, a distinctive all-black truss deployment for the festival’s Spritz Bar, and a fully functioning “Nonna’s House” installation, complete with working lamps, a working TV, and the obligatory plastic-covered furniture.

The Challenge

Delivering infrastructure at this scale, across a single unpredictable day, meant designing a system that could hold up to whatever the weather brought — while still looking the part for a crowd of 20,000.

Key considerations included:

• Extreme weather swings across the event, from 38-degree heat to heavy rain later the same day
• Site-wide rigging and trussing across multiple activation zones, including a custom-built Trevi Fountain
• A distinct all-black truss treatment for the Spritz Bar, designed to stand apart visually from the rest of the site
• Powering a fully functioning “Nonna’s House” installation — complete with working lamps and a working TV — as a standalone electrical build within the wider site infrastructure
• Reliable site-wide radio communications to keep every department connected across a large, high-traffic footprint

Any one of these alone would be manageable. Together, on the same day, they demanded a genuinely adaptable production plan.

Our Approach

Elite worked closely with the client from early planning to bring their vision for the festival’s signature features to life, while building in the flexibility to handle whatever the day threw at the site.

• Designed and built a custom Trevi Fountain installation as a festival centrepiece, combining rigging and lighting to make it a genuine drawcard for the event
• Delivered a bespoke all-black truss build for the Spritz Bar, giving it a distinct visual identity separate from the rest of the festival
• Built and wired a fully functioning “Nonna’s House” installation, complete with working lamps, a working TV, and classic plastic-covered furniture — an authentic, crowd-pleasing detail true to the festival’s theme
• Supplied and rigged lighting infrastructure across the entire festival site, covering multiple zones and activations
• Selected equipment and rigging methods suited to sustained outdoor exposure, protecting against both extreme heat and heavy rain on the day
• Rolled out site-wide radio communications, keeping every department in sync across a large event footprint

The Outcome

The festival delivered exactly the atmosphere it set out to create — a genuine celebration of Italian culture and food, with the Trevi Fountain, the Spritz Bar, and “Nonna’s House” among the standout visual moments of the day.

Audience numbers exceeded 20,000 people over the event, and the production held firm through both extremes of a Perth day in a single event window.

The result:

• A custom-built Trevi Fountain that became one of the festival’s signature features
• A distinct all-black truss identity for the Spritz Bar, setting it apart from the rest of the site
• A fully functioning “Nonna’s House,” complete with working lamps, TV and plastic-covered furniture, that became a nostalgic crowd favourite
• Site-wide lighting and rigging that performed reliably through 38-degree heat and heavy rain on the same day
• Seamless department coordination via site-wide radio communications
• A smooth, safe event for a crowd of more than 20,000 people

The project reinforced Elite’s ability to deliver bespoke creative builds alongside full-scale site infrastructure — even when the weather has other plans — and marked a second successful year building on an established relationship with the festival.

Overview

Lighting the Sound, created by internationally renowned lighting artist Kari Kola, transformed the landscape of Albany into a large-scale immersive lighting installation.

The artwork combined powerful beams of light with hundreds of purpose-built LED elements, carefully integrated into the natural environment. Following considerable testing alongside Kari and his creative team, the Ayrton Mamba was selected as the primary moving light fixture for the installation. Its intense, sharply defined beam cast a striking red column of light across the night sky — paying tribute to the local bloodroot plant and the region’s natural landscape.

Elite supported the production team by providing the moving light systems and technical expertise needed to ensure the installation operated reliably throughout the entire event period.

The Challenge

Delivering a large-scale artistic lighting installation across a natural coastal landscape presented both creative and technical challenges.

Key considerations included:

• Identifying a moving light fixture capable of producing a sharp, high-intensity beam visible across long distances
• Supporting the creative team through extensive testing to ensure the visual outcome matched the artistic vision
• Integrating moving lights with more than 850 specially designed LED fixtures installed throughout the site
• Ensuring the lighting system remained reliable across an extended outdoor event run

Maintaining consistent performance in an outdoor environment while supporting a highly precise artistic concept required careful technical planning.

Our Approach

Elite worked alongside Kari Kola’s creative and technical team to ensure the moving light systems performed exactly as required.

• Supported extensive fixture testing with Kari Kola and his team to identify the most suitable moving light for the project
• Supplied Ayrton Mamba fixtures, chosen for their powerful beam output and ability to project a clean, defined red shaft of light through the night sky
• Provided technical support for the moving light systems throughout installation, programming, and operation
• Worked alongside the international creative team as they installed more than 850 custom-designed LED fixtures across the site
• Ensured the moving light systems integrated smoothly with the broader lighting infrastructure used for the installation

The Outcome

The installation created a dramatic visual landmark across the Albany landscape, with powerful red beams cutting through the night sky while hundreds of LED fixtures illuminated the surrounding environment.

Over the three-week event run, the lighting systems delivered flawless reliability.

The project achieved:

• A visually striking tribute to the region’s natural environment
• Precise execution of Kari Kola’s artistic vision
• Seamless collaboration between international artists and local technical teams
• Zero equipment failures across the entire three-week event period

Lighting the Sound demonstrated how carefully selected technology, strong collaboration, and disciplined technical delivery can support ambitious large-scale public artworks in challenging outdoor environments.

Overview

The James Reyne – Fall of Crawl Tour performance at Red Hill Auditorium brought together a lineup of iconic Australian artists for a high-energy night of live music.

Elite was engaged to supply a detailed concert lighting system designed to deliver a strong visual impact while operating within the venue’s structural limitations. The production required a robust, reliable lighting infrastructure supported by fully redundant control systems to ensure uninterrupted show operation.

Working closely with the show’s lighting designer from early planning through to delivery, elite developed a lighting solution that balanced performance, weight management, and reliability.

The Challenge

Red Hill Auditorium presents a unique set of technical constraints. While the venue offers a dramatic natural setting and strong audience connection, its roof structure requires careful management of rigging loads.

Key considerations included:

• Designing a high-impact concert lighting rig within strict roof weight limitations
• Maintaining creative flexibility for the lighting designer while reducing fixture weight
• Delivering a fully redundant lighting control infrastructure suitable for a touring headline show
• Supporting multiple high-profile acts performing within the same production environment

Achieving a visually powerful stage presence while carefully managing structural limits required a considered technical approach.

Our Approach

Elite worked closely with the production team and the lighting designer to create an efficient, high-performance lighting system that adhered to the venue’s load restrictions.

• Developed a carefully balanced lighting rig designed specifically for the structural limitations of Red Hill Auditorium
• Selected high-output, lightweight fixtures, including the Ayrton Rivale and Martin Aura XIP, to maximise visual impact while controlling overall rig weight
• Implemented a fully redundant lighting control infrastructure to ensure show-critical reliability throughout the performance
• Coordinated closely with the touring production team to ensure the lighting system supported multiple artists and performance styles throughout the evening
• Delivered a clean, efficient rig that allowed the lighting designer to maintain creative intent without compromise

The Outcome

The result was a visually dynamic concert lighting environment that captured the energy and legacy of the artists performing that night.

Audiences experienced standout performances from Australian music icons, including James Reyne, Boom Crash Opera, 1927, and Models.

The production delivered:

• A powerful concert lighting design that worked within strict venue limitations
• High reliability through fully redundant lighting control systems
• Strong collaboration between the lighting designer, touring production team, and venue
• A polished visual result that complemented a night of celebrated Australian music

The project demonstrated how thoughtful fixture selection, careful rig design, and reliable control infrastructure can deliver large-scale concert impact, even within technically constrained venues.

Overview

The Russell Morris concert at Riverside Theatre required careful integration with an established in-house technical system. While indoor venues remove some environmental risks, they introduce a different set of challenges — particularly when working within fixed infrastructure, power limitations, and existing rigging systems.

elite was engaged to deliver a lighting solution that respected the venue’s systems while ensuring the artist and designer had full creative control on show day.

The Challenge

Integrating an external lighting system into a venue with a permanent technical provider can quickly become a bottleneck if not managed correctly.

Key risks included:

• Compatibility issues between touring and in-house systems

• Truss and rigging constraints, including the risk of equipment not fitting in available positions

• Power allocation limits that, if miscalculated, could restrict the lighting design or create safety issues

• Lost programming time for the artist due to inefficient setup

Without proper planning, these factors can lead to delays, compromises, and unnecessary stress for the touring team.

Our Approach

elite approached the project with preparation and venue knowledge as the priority.

• Installed our own control infrastructure, allowing the artist’s console to integrate cleanly without relying on last-minute patching

• Pre-planned extensively with the Riverside Theatre technical team to confirm rigging points, truss availability, and load limits

• Used our deep understanding of the venue’s systems to integrate with in-house infrastructure where required, rather than working around it

• Verified power distribution and capacity in advance to ensure the design could be delivered without restriction

This approach removed uncertainty and allowed the technical setup to be completed efficiently.

The Outcome

On show day, the client was able to walk in, connect their console, and immediately begin refining the show file — not troubleshooting infrastructure.

The client valued:

• A solutions-focused technical team that removed complexity

• Efficient integration with in-house systems

• Confidence that rigging and power had been properly planned

• A calm, predictable technical environment that allowed creative focus

The result was a smooth delivery that gave the artist more time to achieve the desired looks, without distractions or technical compromises.