d Wiess As I enter the docklands at the edge of Melbourne’s CBD, a strange greenish light projects through a pyramided structure. I approach with caution along with Eli who has his weapon at the ready. I look around at the people walking through it, the relaxing chimes of underwater music echoes throughout the quay, resonating ever so slightly off the surrounding high-rise apartment buildings. It’s a cold night. Actually, it’s freezing and I wish I had put on that extra jacket before I left the house. I meet Nimrod Wiess, co-creator and designer of the Lightscraper. He sits at the control booth with a computer and two projectors, wrapped in a thick bubble coat and a beanie, a pair of wool gloves protecting his tools from the near-freezing conditions. I first encountered this unique artwork at the 2009 Rainbow Serpent Festival near Beaufort in Central Victoria. I waded out into the fields, away from the four stages and their party strobes. The stars were out in their millions. A large structure loomed up out of the fields, a cubed pyramid with a small video camera situated just a few metres from it connected to a projector. On the almost invisible screens a ballet of images and colours swam, and people floated through, looking around in complete awe. Some lay on the cold grass and looked up as the Milky Way and the images fused together. A tranquil calmness wafted down around us, embracing and petting us, like aliens that had arrived, telling us that everything is going to be alright. Eli snaps away feverishly as the images change and something new is created – born-again art. Nimrod (‘En’) is the co-founder of Eness, a company that was born in 1997. He met the other founder, Steven (‘Ess’) in the third grade. ‘We’ve been working on creating interactive experiences. We were exploring ways for people to interact with spaces in a different way and this was the result - for people to find new experiences.’
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