Tunku & Ngaadi x VIVID 2025

We partnered with The Australian National Maritime Museum again to bring a First Nations story to life upon their rooftop for Vivid Sydney 2025.

Inspired by the festival’s theme of ‘dreams’, we worked with Walbunja and Ngarigo artist Cheryl Davison to tell the ocean and life creation story, TUNKU & NGAADI. It dives into the deep emotions of love and loss, revealing how heartbreak can inspire creation. Ngaadi’s sorrow, born from the loss of Tunku, shapes the rivers and oceans, and her broken heart gives birth to the Waratah flower.

Our studio spent time with Cheryl and her oeuvre of beautiful artworks to create a kaleidoscopic tribute to the eternal bond between humans, land and ocean. It is a celebration of the vast ocean, waterways, and rivers and all it’s majestic life-giving force, fluidity, renewal and connection. This wonderful dreamy narrative invites the audience into a hypnotic experience, as we see our Country through a fresh perspective.

With music by JW Paton (Yuin), and Cheryl Davison and the Djinama Yilaga Choir, the animated projection can be seen upon the rooftop of the Australian National Maritime Museum during Vivid Sydney 2025 (23 May – 14 June), as well as inside the Bamal Yarning Space.