Alleyway awakens for nature-inspired night

A QUIET alleyway in Ocean Grove’s industrial estate will transform this weekend into a hidden festival of light, music and art that is rooted in a deep care for the natural world.

Tomorrow (Saturday, June 7), Two Doors Down café, which is situated off Smithton Grove, will host an immersive audio-visual experience aiming to bring the magic of Takayna, an expansive ancient rainforest in Tasmania’s north-west, to the Bellarine.

Named Grove Illuminated, the event is a collaboration between visual artist and motion designer Chloe Holliday and music producer Rob Major, and will feature light projections, soundscapes and wildlife recordings gathered over the last 12 months during visits to the rainforest, which environmental groups have long been fighting to protect from the threat of logging, mining and deforestation.

It’s a threat Ms Holliday has seen first-hand.

“You think it’s really far away, but it’s here – it’s on our doorstep.

“I think everyone in Australia knows of the Otways and the Daintree, yet Takayna is part of it and it’s just not on the map. It’s devastating to think something like that could be destroyed in our lifetime.

“We’re trying to bring light to it in a light way through art. We don’t want to preach it, but it’s such an amazing part of the world that it’s been really easy to create for it.”

As part of the event, visitors will be able to wander market stalls from local artists, take a mystical garden walk through Willy Wildlife’s bronze sculptures, enjoy a late-night special opening of local gallery The Hive and warm up with curry bowls and mulled wine.

Rob Major’s electronic band Firstlast will also perform, alongside a line-up of acoustic musicians and DJs.

“We want this to be a night of celebration. We want to celebrate the wilderness, the wildlife and remind us all that we’re so lucky to have all of this,” Ms Holliday said.

“We’re a part of the landscape…so we need to protect it, we need to look after it and we need to be respectful of it.

“I hope people come and think ‘Wow, what an amazing, mystical, magical place this is’ – which is great in itself – but then we also need to be aware of the reality: it is under so much threat.”

Grove Illuminated will run from 5.30pm to 9.30pm. For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit zeropointyoga.net/upcoming-events