Ben Apfelbaum

MACROCOSM AND THE AIRSHIP ORCHESTRA

To delight children and the young at heart two sets of inflatable objects are present during the duration of the Festival until the 30th January.

The first set of inflatables are floating in Cockle Bay. This group is entitled Macrocosm devised by Goldberg, Aberline Studio. Inspired by the fragile, small worlds of our Waterways it aims to convey how our small actions influence the biggest picture.

Macrocosm
Macrocosm
Macrocosm

Tethered at the other end as they are to the southern part of Cockle Bay they are also available for an aquatic inspection on pedal boats nearby. 

In nearby Tumbalong Park are a collection of sixteen inflatable sculptures rising up to six meters high, pulsating in supernatural songs, tweets and hoots, while at night they glow with luminous lighting. The piece is entitled ‘Airship Orchestra’. One walks in between the inflatables which sonically respond to your movement creating a multi-sensory, immersive experience. 

The installation was created by Melbourne based Art and Technology Studio, Eness, 

The exhibition is open from 10am to 10pm, is free to visit and will stay installed until the 30 January, the end of the Sydney Festival.

Text and pics by Ben Apfelbaum

Published by Ben Apfelbaum

My photography began when my father handed me the proverbial brownie box camera as a child. As cameras developed I went through Fujica and Olympus range finders graduating to my first single lens reflex camera, the Minolta SRT101, the latter being the greatest facilitator to my growth as a photographer. Digital photography has only added to this. I was a regular contributor to Camera Craft magazine (Australian Camera ) for over three years. During Australia’s Bicentennial year (1988) I made it a personal project to document the celebrations. This culminated in the creation of a book of my photos which was published in 1989. The book was called CELEBRATING AUSTRALIA and came with an accompanying calendar. My works have appeared in a number of publications including the coffee book entitled MY AUSTRALIA (1989), publisher Robertsbridge Severn. This book had a preface by the then Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. I was a co-photographer on a book entitled SYDNEY- DISCOVER THE CITY with text written by Robert Treborland. Major Mitchell Press was the publisher. Also for two years I was the photographer for calendars celebrating Sydney’s multicultural communities. The two calendars were entitled MULTICULTURAL SYDNEY. My work appeared in a group exhibition held at Sydney’s Town Hall pertaining to the diversity of life in South America to raise money for orphanages there. I have over one hundred photos stored in the New South Wales State Library archive. I had a solo exhibition held in 2007 entitled Ben’s Lens at the Sydney Jewish Museum which celebrated the vibrancy of the Sydney Jewish community. Some of these photos are on the Museum’s permanent display. I have exhibited internationally firstly at the Spruill Gallery in Atlanta Georgia, united states, and in an exhibition entitled Kosher and Co at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Currently I am a regular contributor to J-Wire and this esteemed publication.