●Festival stage · Tocumwal, VIC · 2018

Deep Jungle

A 40m-wide winged form that snaked around the dancefloor, enveloping the crowd and creating an almost open-air, indoor experience in the middle of the Australian bush. The cladding reimagined the peeling bark of a rainbow eucalyptus — thin bracing ply ripped and torn to recreate that endlessly textured surface — with the colour palette and paintwork led by artist Chia Jen. Tunnels pierced the facade and led to hidden ramps up to concealed higher levels, drawing patrons into their own path of discovery. It was designed in conjunction with Full Throttle Entertainment around one of the largest subwoofers seen at an Australian festival, set at the centre as the mouth of the stage. Deep Jungle was designed and built by alterplace for Strawberry Fields Festival 2018 at Tocumwal.

Client: Strawberry Fields Festival
Scope: Concept DesignScenographyTechnical DesignBuild Management
Collaborators: Sound — Full Throttle EntertainmentPaintwork — Chia Jen

Sweeping bark-clad winged stage form glowing green and gold above the DJ booth, enveloping the night-time crowd — 01photo — Duncographic

Daytime crowd around the 40m winged stage form snaking through the gum trees at Strawberry Fields Festival 2018 — 02photo — Duncographic

Front-on view of the painted torn-ply canopy flaring above the black subwoofer wall, three crew seated in the sub bay — 03photo — Duncographic

Close detail of the torn-ply bark cladding, hand-painted in pinks, teals and ochres — 04photo — Duncographic

Festivalgoers with a parasol leaning on the top edge of the stage wing beneath the gums — 05photo — Duncographic

The bark-clad wing curving through the daytime crowd at Strawberry Fields Festival — 06photo — Duncographic

Two of the crew perched on the painted wing of the stage — 07photo — Duncographic

The stage mouth glowing green and gold at night, DJs silhouetted at the booth — 08photo — Duncographic

Inside the stage mouth — torn-ply cladding radiating overhead as a DJ lifts his headphones in pink light — 09photo — Duncographic

Lasers cutting over the winged stage form above the night crowd, in black and white — 10photo — Duncographic

The full stage empty at golden hour — painted wings, tunnel openings and speaker stacks in the sand — 11photo — Duncographic

Along the stage wing at golden hour, smoke drifting from the subwoofer mouth — 12photo — Duncographic

Speaker stacks and horns framed against the pastel torn-ply cladding — 13photo — Duncographic

Two DJs silhouetted beneath the amber-lit torn-ply ceiling at night — 14photo — Duncographic