The inspiration for Flynn Talbot’s installation came just before Christmas 2017 when, after a decade of bitter debate, Australia became the 26th country to legalise same-sex marriage. The amendment to the Marriage Act followed an unprecedented national postal survey in which 62 per cent of voters approved the law change. “I was overwhelmed with a sense of pride and a basic love for humanity,” Talbot said. “In Australia, there is now a new notion of what love is, and it is tangible in the air.” The designer sought to capture something of this fleeting emotion in visible light.

Visitors were presented with a circular, freestanding structure, from which hangs a rainbow-coloured light screen. “With the Pride flag being such a strong global symbol of love, it was an obvious choice for me to create an installation that used the full spectrum of colours,” said Talbot. The light screen was made from 150 strands of fibre-optic light, each one a different colour. Visitors were able to touch and move through the light strands, feeling the coloured light in their hands, or they could simply stand within the space and be surrounded with a rainbow colour wash. “I wanted people to be able to feel and experience every colour of light, just as now in Australia people are open to every way of loving. I hope the open and accepting nature of the new Australia is felt through my installation.”