Review: Skin of Fire – a display of pyrotechnic wizardry

Skin of Fire
Groupe F
Auckland Domain

Until Saturday March 7^th

Skin of Fire promised to be a spectacle as good as last festival’s The Breath of the Volcano and it lived up to all expectations with another remarkable multi-dimensional experience.

The low rumbling which introduced the show seemed like the sound of the earth opening and cracking beneath the audience. It was followed shortly after by a massive display of fireworks which showed ingenuity and style – nothing like the fireworks displays we normally get to see. This was more than just big bangs. One impressive display saw huge red flares erupting on the museum roof as though it were a volcanic vent.

There continued to be beautifully orchestrated waves of fire that raced up and down the ridge of the museum as though produced by some demented pyrotechnic organ and the closing sequence looked as though the organisers had suddenly found a missing cache of fireworks and decided to send them all up in the closing minutes.

Audiences didn’t just get to experience a magnificent fireworks display, because Groupe F produced a stunning series of images projected along one side of the Auckland Museum, which provided the viewer with kaleidoscopes of colour and texture with images which ranged from what could have been exotic carpets, enlargements of natural forms and geometric patterns. While much of the imagery referenced the natural world, there was also a long sequence which had images from World War I. When these images were being shown, the fireworks sounded like  the cannonades of war.

The soundscape, which included natural sounds, electronic music and traditional instruments, was complemented not only by the fireworks but also gas flares that danced in patterns across the ground and extraordinary figures wearing LED light suits who wandered through the landscape. Some of these figures even became human Catherine Wheels during one of the frenetic displays.

This was a show of extraordinary beauty as well as breathtaking spectacle and a great crowd pleaser.