Sarah Kenderdine

Born 1966, Sydney, Australia
Lives and works in Switzerland

Zooming Sydney
2017, duration 90 mins, looped 
Sarah Kenderdine, Jeffrey Shaw and Paul Nichola in collaboration with the State Library of NSW
Commissioned by Transport for New South Wales 

Screening times:

6am-3pm on odd numbered days throughout August 2020
3pm-12am on even numbered days throughout August 2020

Artist Statement 

Zooming Sydney is a new media installation conceived for Wynscreen that utilises the cinematic narrative potential of gigapixel panoramic imaging to create a compelling aesthetic and urban-cultural heritage experience.

This artwork presents the world’s largest 360-degree photography of Sydney (2014) shot from the Sydney Tower (also known as Westfield Centrepoint Tower), consisting of 125 billion pixels. Virtual camera movements within the spherical panorama zoom in to specific Sydney locations of special historical, cultural and social significance. These locales are then augmented with rich visual materials selected from the comprehensive archives of the State Library of NSW.

The poetic dynamics across the Sydney’s iconic landscape engage the viewer’s curiosity with increasing fascination as the artwork takes them to various locations. Once arrived, they discover historical panoramas of Sydney as well as relational groupings of photographs, drawings, etchings and watercolours that evoke the rich and varied narratives of Sydney’s past.

These images have been selected by the artists from the renowned historical and contemporary collections of the State Library, forming one of the most significant historical and documentary archives in Australia. Of special relevance to this artwork are the records of the settlement and development of Sydney, its natural and built environment, and the rich evidence of Sydneysiders from all walks of life.

Through Zooming Sydney, travelers within Wynyard station are ‘transported’ outside into Sydney’s spectacular expanse, engaging with the rich urban memory and cultural history that is inscribed in the material and imaginary fabric of the city. The confluence of virtual locations, narrative texture and the commuters’ own travels creates an existential adventure constituted by Sydney’s natural, architectonic and cultural identity.

Production Credits 

• Conceived and directed by Sarah Kenderdine and Jeffrey Shaw
• Project management: Sarah Kenderdine
• Compositing: Paul Nichola
• Archival material: State Library of NSW, Paula Bray and Maggie Patton
• Gigapixel photograph: Pixelcase

Artist Biography 

Professor Sarah Kenderdine researches at the forefront of interactive and immersive experiences for museums and galleries. In widely exhibited installation works she has amalgamated cultural heritage with new media art practice, especially in the realms of interactive cinema, augmented reality and embodied narrative.

Sarah is considered a pioneer in the field digital heritage, digital humanities and big data visualisation and is a regular keynote speaker at related forums internationally. In 2016, she was selected as a Cultural Leader for the World Economic Forum. She has produced over 80 exhibitions and installations for museums worldwide with 60 publications including six books.

She has received numerous prizes for her work including Council for Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS) Prize for Distinctive Work (2014); International Council of Museum Award (Australia) 2013; Australian Arts in Asia Awards Innovation Award 2013 and; Tartessos Prize 2013 for contributions to virtual archaeology worldwide.

Sarah was appointed full Professor at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland in July 2017, where she directs a new laboratory in experimental museology. Between 2013-2017 as professor at University of NSW Art & Design, Sarah concurrently held the position of founding Director of Visualisation for UNSW’s interdisciplinary Expanded Perception and Interaction Centre (EPICentre) and director of the laboratory for Innovation in Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (iGLAM).

She also held the position as head of Special Projects for Museum Victoria, Australia from 2003-2017. From 2010-2015 she was the founding Director of Research at the Applied Laboratory for Interactive Visualization and Embodiment (ALiVE), City University of Hong Kong.