ESEM has been responsible for the illuminations that were projected onto Bathurst buildings during the festival in 2015 and 2017. 

Each year, the company has worked to a theme to deliver cohesive and interesting animations.

ESEM director, Michael Killalea, said this year’s theme started off quite generally as ‘nature’, but it was narrowed down further to become ‘Into the wild’.

Once again, Bathurst Court House will be the heart of the illuminations. 

“Last year it was quite an abstract, geometrical, kaleidoscopic affair, and this year we’re going for the big themes; we’re look at the genesis of life,” Mr Killalea said.

“It’s a heavily stylised animation piece, that runs on the outside of the building, that goes from amoebas basically through to the larger primates and humans, all in a seven-minute loop with a fantastic soundtrack composed by Gary Sinclair.”

As with previous festivals, several other parts of the central business district will be illuminated.

Mr Killalea said the lane running alongside the court house will feature an interactive illumination.

“The court house lane is taking some of the motifs and elements from the court house and projecting them along the side of the wall and you can interact with them,” he said. “There is a series of amoeba pools that a projected against the side of the wall and when you interact with a specific area near the projector, the pools burst into life and you have animals who’ve appeared on the court house spring into life in front of you.” 

The 2017 Bathurst Winter Festival had a ‘weird and wonderful’ theme, which was continued through the illuminations.

For the first time, the fernery in Machattie Park was added to the program, with ESEM turning the space into a fairy garden. 

The fernery will house illuminations again this year, but become a forest full of lights, projections and recorded stories that have been composed by local school children. 

Also in Machattie Park will be an arch of light, which Mr Killalea said people can walk through and is “very Instagramable”. 

The Cathedral of St Michael and St John will also have illuminations projected onto it.

Mr Killalea said ESEM has enjoyed the opportunity to work with Bathurst Regional Council’s events team again to create an interesting element for the festival.

The illuminations will launch on July 7, the first night of the 2018 festival.