Wagga artist Greg Pritchard contributes work to Vivid festival

But one piece standing in the water of Sydney Harbour was conceived by two regional Australian artists - Greg Pritchard of Wagga, and Dave Jones of Natimuk.

Bump and Sway comprises 12 five-metre-high light poles that rise from the water with LEDs inside. With the aid of Arduino micro computers, the lights react to the environment, changing colour as the waves push them to and fro.

Dr Pritchard, who holds a PhD in literature in addition to being a practising artist, said the work was influenced by his fascination with light and shadow.

"I was obsessed with shadows, and made a joke about projecting a giant shadow of a harvester onto the silo," he said.

"Jillian the aerial dance person and Dave, who I'm working with now said they'd been thinking ... and we did this massive show, with hundreds of members - 600 community people, projections, dancers, shadows.

"We've been working together doing that stuff since then."

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Dr Pritchard said he has used the intervening years to skill up as a producer, and gain a better understanding of visual art from the perspective of a creator.

Like many of the most adventurous creatives, he says his art "doesn't have a schtick" - he is more driven by process than outcomes.

This can result in strange clashes of aesthetics, ideas, and technology, like stop motion videos of gaffer-taped figures, shot with a 360 degree camera for use on virtual reality headsets.

He sees Bump and Sway - a combination of perspex tubes, lights, computers and water - as an extension of this high-technology, low--fidelity practice.

In his parallel career as a literary academic, Mr Pritchard is interested in environmental philosophy. He said this gives him mixed feelings about having work on display at Vivid.

"It's obscene really," he said.

"We all have our hypocrisies, and one of mine is a bunch of the work I make is not environmentally themed.

"I try and live as ethical as I can ... but I don't want to turn my back on society. I'd rather just be really angry within it."

Bump and Sway is on display at Pier 4 off Hickson Road, Walsh Bay until June 17.

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