Bathed in sunshine for an average of nine hours a day, Perth is the sunniest capital city in Australia. Harvesting this plentiful sunlight is AGWA’s major new sculptural installation, Blue Sky with Rainbow by artist Julianne Swartz.

Blue Sky with Rainbow quietly reveals its subtle interaction with the Gallery’s concourse spaces and draws on the natural source of real-time sunlight, as well as the passing or transient presence of the viewer. 

This installation seems not just to “take a line for a walk” through the Gallery spaces (artist Paul Klee once described drawing as “taking a line for a walk”), but light as well, transporting real-time sunlight, all the way from the rooftop to the ground floor. In this way, Blue Sky with Rainbow transports a stream of light energy through the building, a medium which is entirely mutable, being dependent on the outside sunlight to create the interior optical event. The playful, recurring nature of the work invites viewers’ interaction, and the rainbow at the end of the path will reward their engagement and prepare them to notice the details that emerge as they continue through the Gallery’s display spaces.

The artist extends special thanks to Markus Greiner, Professor of Physics, Harvard University, and Parans Solar Lighting, for their assistance on this project.