Artist Keith Courtney brought House of Mirrors and 1000 Doors to the Garden of Unearthly Delights in previous years, and this time around he’s taken inspiration from the interplay of colour and mirrors for Kaleidoscope, 700 square metres of mirrored corridors just beyond the Garden’s entrance.

Stepping through the door of Kaleidoscope, our pace slows and there’s an overwhelming urge to walk with our hands in front of us. When the concern for our safety subsides, each step brings with it an interesting new perspective. Mirrors, glass and steel are set in triangular formations to create reflections stretching to infinity.

Somehow, peace and anxiety co-exist in Kaleidoscope – the quandary of the maze gives the experience an uneasy edge, but the seemingly endlessness-of-space freeing.

Courtney collaborated with visual artists Ash Keating and Samantha Slicer on the project, along with composer Tamil Rogeon and the National Boys Choir of Australia. The haunting soundtrack heightens the feeling of otherworldly disorientation.

We visit the open-air structure in broad daylight and are left wanting for more – the night-time viewings have the added benefit of a light show. Panels of transparent blue, yellow and red are the only landmarks to orient, along with a rotating prism in (what we think is) the maze’s centre, elements that presumably come to life at night.

A ticket allows for half an hour in which to find the exit – something that a steward inside tells us is a mirror that can be pulled open. It takes us maybe 15 minutes at a meandering pace to emerge.

The experience is made all the richer when you allow yourself to forget the goal and enjoy the impossible visual puzzles.

As the show’s notes say, “No two experiences will be the same”, so become immersed in it for yourself – perhaps just wait until the sun sets.

Kaleidoscope is in the Garden of Unearthly Delights until March 19.

Read more 2023 Adelaide Fringe stories and reviews on InReview here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KlKMWSMnG4