Synapse | Strange Festival 2024

In Winter of 2023, things got very Strange in Perth as 78,000 people dared to leave their homes and explore the abandoned and unknown corners of Perth City in search of something weird and wonderful.

Synapse is an approximately 20m long, walk-through, educational, interactive anatomy art installation composed of an eyeball attached to an optic nerve tunnel that leads into a giant inflatable brain. It features lighting, video projection effects and augmented reality projections to communicate to the audience how their own sight works and is designed to inspire people to learn about and see the beauty in their own bodies’ anatomy. It is intended to empower people to realise that they are capable of learning subjects like anatomy that are often perceived as difficult (but are often just poorly taught). Synapse includes Aboriginal language where installed to describe the anatomy and physiology of the visual system in the ‘mother tongue of the land’ to show respect and recognition for culture. Boorloo (Perth) is the land of the Whadjuk people. The language descriptions for Whadjuk Boodjar was provided by Whadjuk and Ballardong Nyungar Elder Auntie Marie Taylor with cultural engagement support by Dr Barbara Hostalek, an Aboriginal (Yawuru and Gija cultural connections) artist (playwright, poet) and veterinarian