POLYTOXIC

A dynamic performance element was included in Strand Ephemera 2015 by way of Polytoxic’s landmark production, Trade Winds.

Trade Winds is a unique site-specific performance installation featuring Polytoxic’s trademark physicality and striking visuals. Performed atop the water, this work re-imagines voyages, meetings and exchanges seen on the trade routes of the Pacific Ocean in a breathtakingly beautiful festival experience for all ages.

Trade Winds is the result of a collaboration between the innovative dance-theatre company Polytoxic, one of Australia’s most exciting contemporary Pacific visual artists, Samuel Tupou, and talented animator Pete Foley.

Polytoxic is based in Brisbane, Australia, and creates work inspired by the traditions of the Pacific, the guts of physical performance and the crimes of pop-culture. Trade Winds was co-conceived and choreographed by Polytoxic Co-Directors Lisa Fa’alafi and Leah Shelton.

Samuel Tupou is one of Australia’s most exciting contemporary Pacific visual artists whose artwork sets traditional Tongan Tapa patterns against the stylised images and wildly artificial colours of western pop culture.

Pete Foley is an animator, illustrator and motion designer, whose distinct point of view holds references to Art Deco, minimalism, mythology and video game culture.

Trade Winds is co-produced by Metro Arts and Polytoxic. Trade Winds has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.

In total, 7 performances were staged as part of Strand Ephemera; a surprise preview as part of the official festival launch on Saturday 1 August, and 6.30pm and 7.30pm sessions each night from Sunday 2 until Monday 4 August. An impressive 2400 guests turned out to take in the performance.

For many, Trade Winds provided the festival highlight, and marked Strand Ephemera’s continued evolution from strictly an outdoor art exhibition, to a truly holistic festival.

For others, the ingenuity of the performance on the Rock Pool provided inspiration for the transformation of our public spaces, and for the possibilities of performance art in Townsville.

IMAGE: Polytoxic

Trade Winds