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.
