Cave Urban was commissioned by the Brisbane Festival to create an installation for the Southbank Cultural Forecourt.  Standing at 18m high and 60m long, the light garden is composed of 1000 poles of bamboo and was created in collaboration with the the festivals Creative Director, Tony Assness.

The requirements of site meant that the work had to be free standing with no anchor points to the ground. In order to achieve this we devised a structural system composed of two overlapping parabolic grids of bamboo attached to 5 concrete blocks weighing in total 1 tonne. The bamboo was connected using a tourniquet method first taught to us by Belgium sculptor Georges Cuvillier. By connecting the work with rope we were able to quickly assemble and disassemble the work, keeping the bamboo intact and able to be reused on future projects.

Working with Jeremy and Morgan from Event engineering we were able to certify the work by load testing the rope joint, finding it capable of withstanding loads up to 1 tonne (Four times the amount required).

Building 

The work was constructed over a period of two weeks, onsite at Southbank, with the help of volunteers and members of Brisbane collective The BooCrew.

The bamboo poles work together to create a woven entity, far exceeding the structural capabilities of each single pole.

Harvesting

Cave Urban members Jed and Lachy spent two weeks harvesting 1000 poles of Bamboo from plantations at Crystal Waters, Kin Kin and Grafton. With the help of volunteers from QUT, they cut the bamboo to 12m lengths that where transported to site at Southbank in Brisbane.

Species harvested where Moso, Madake, Oldhamii, Guadua and Tuldoides.

This project was supported and enriched by volunteers who shared their time, abilities and energy.

Madeline Brandt - Oli Hanran - Ami Cochrane - Sobi Slingsby - Sebastian Guy - Steve Szell - Sam Stewart - Dylan Sheppard - Chelsea Ogle - David Chapman - Alexander Atkinson - Kristin Du Toit - Shannon Toth - Crystal Anson - Zana Wright - Megan Lipsys - Mitchell McDonald-Roberts - Edwina Harrison - Cindy Saaiman - Tim Jensen

Thank you.!!