Eternal Return is a video projection work for the live performance of Sarah Blasko’s new album in the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House. The performance was part of the Opera House’s Graphic Festival and required one-hour of bespoke material for the entire duration of the album.
In contrast to her previous releases, synthesisers play a central role in the album and Sarah wanted to capture the sense of ‘drifting in space’ that they contribute. To mirror this, the 3D images are synthesised and reference an earlier era of psychedelia that influenced the sound of the album.
The work strives to achieve a sense of synesthesia - that the audience feels like they’re seeing what they’re hearing. To this end, most of the animation is driven by the music’s MIDI files, as well as the amplitude and frequency of the music's waveforms. With the drummer playing to a click-track in sync with the visuals, the imagery and sound worked together as a single coherent experience.
