A spectacular light show that lit up the Albany night sky has drawn thousands of tourists to Western Australia’s south coast.
Over 750 LED lights installed along the King George Sound, shining over a 12-kilometre stretch, have illuminated the Albany night sky.
The installation, called Lighting the Sound, is the creative brainchild of Finnish light artist Kari Kola. It was commissioned as part of the City of Albany’s bicentennial.
Thousands of people lined the King George Sound to view the display. (ABC Great Southern: Andrew Chounding )
The 12-kilometre-long light show is the largest ever put on display.  (ABC Great Southern: Andrew Chounding )
World first
It’s Kola’s first project in Australia.
But the Finnish artist has created several similar installations around the world, including in the Connemara Mountains in Ireland and Stonehenge in England.
Mr Kola, who first visited Albany two years ago, said the original plan was to create a much smaller display, but the installation had since grown.
The display that lit up the Great Southern sky on Friday night was the largest light show ever constructed anywhere in the world.Â
Finnish light artist Kari Kola drew inspiration from Menang people. (ABC Great Southern: Rosemary Murphy)
He said the inspiration for the light show was drawn from the culture of the region’s traditional owners.
“I found the bloodroot plant and the Menang people, and the bloodroot is Menang, and everything started from there,” Mr Kola said.
“I took the colours from the plant itself, and combined the ancient times, 200 years, present times, the land and the cosmos.”
The multi-million dollar light show was one of several installations commissioned to commemorate the City of Albany’s bicentennial.
It was created in collaboration with Menang elders and local community members.
Over 750 LED lights and 15 red pencil beams were used. (ABC Great Southern: Andrew Chounding)
Cameras and phones captured the full spectrum of colours projected by the lights. (ABC Great Southern: Andrew Chounding )
Cultural connection
Menang and Nadju woman Carol Pettersen, who worked on the project, said the show’s cultural connection helped bridge the gap between the region’s Indigenous and non-Indigenous history.
“This has given us a position, us as in a Menang position, even though it’s about settlement, European settlement,” she said.
“Much of our story has been missing from the history books about our contribution in terms of social, economic and spiritual stories.
“This has given us a position to make sure our story is included in the bicentenary of 200 years.”
Menang woman Carol Pettersen was a consultant for the light show. (ABC Great Southern: Andrew Chounding)
Running for nine nights over three weekends, Lighting the Sound is expected to attract thousands of tourists to Albany.
Mayor Greg Stocks said the installation was expected to pump over $30 million into the local economy.
“We think each weekend, we’ll see about 15,000 people,” he said.
“We’re thinking around $30 to $40 million into the local economy over those three weekends.”
Kari Kola said the bloodroot plant was the basis for the colours used in the show. (ABC Great Southern: Andrew Chounding )
Trung Savage travelled hundreds of kilometres to photograph the light show. (Supplied: Trung Savage )
‘No-one else could deliver’
It’s the second light show hosted by the city in as many weeks, with three massive night-time drone performances illuminating King George Sound last weekend.
However, even those shows have been dwarfed by the scale of Mr Kola’s Instillation.
Finland’s Ambassador to Australia, Arto Happea, said there were links between the two countries.
“We have Aurora Borealis in the north, you have Auroral Australis here, I think there’s going to be something similar that we will see here,” he said.
Arto Happea describe the show as “spectacular and beautiful”. (ABC Great Southern: Andrew Chounding)
Mr Happea, who spoke with Mr Kola before the inaugural show, said the artist had promised something no-one else could deliver.
“This will be the biggest [in the world], of course, and quite spectacular in the way it’s been put together,” he said.
“It’s technically quite demanding, and I spoke to the artist earlier. He was not very modest when he said he’s the only person in the world who can do something at this scale.
“I think that it’s going to be very, very beautiful to see.”
A light on the south side of the King George Sound at dusk. (ABC Great Southern: Andrew Chounding)
The lights display changed as the night became darker. (ABC Great Southern: Andrew Chounding)