The camera obscura, which translated from the Latin means ‘dark room’, is an optical device of wonder, whereby the external world is trapped and inverted within the room. For the 2016 Adelaide Biennale of Australian Art, Magic Object, Sydney-based photographer Robyn Stacey used this camera to depict the city of Adelaide as it has never been seen before.

In this ongoing project, Stacey selected many sites across Adelaide, including Carrick Hill, the SAHMRI Building, The Cedars, Parliament House, Port Adelaide, the Brookman Building at the University of Adelaide and the South Australian Institute Building, converting these spaces into temporary camera obscura. These seven locations have been transformed into a magical theatre, whereby the world outside becomes a magic object.

This body of work was commissioned for the 2016 Adelaide Biennale of Australian Art, Magic Object, presented by the Art Gallery of South Australia. It will now tour through regional South Australia, coupled with on-site installations of the camera obscura.

Image: Robyn Stacey, Australia, born 1952, Brookman Building, Freemasons Lodge, 2016, Adelaide, type C photograph, 110.0 x 154.8 cm (image and sheet); Courtesy the artist and Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney