For the second year running, Estée Lauder has announced it's partnering with Vivid Sydney, the Southern Hemisphere’s leading multi-artform festival.
The festival, which is running from Friday, May 23rd to Saturday, June 14th 2025, will feature Estée Lauder's bold artistic installation, titled: While You Were Dreaming.
Located in Darling Square in Darling Harbour, along the famed Vivid Sydney Light Walk, this captivating new work is a fusion of beauty, science, and imagination. Taking form in a towering five-metre-high facial sculpture split down the centre, it explores the transformative power of the night through an unexpected artistic lens.
"Estée Lauder is thrilled to once again be partnering with Vivid Sydney 2025 and collaborating with the incredible Mikka Byarugaba," said Estée Lauder brand general manager, Mariko Rex.
"While You Were Dreaming brings to life over 40 years of Estée Lauder’s cutting-edge Night Science Research."
"We know that our skin has its own circadian rhythm; it protects by day and repairs by night, with the critical renewal process peaking at night."
"While You Were Dreaming represents Estée Lauder’s commitment to innovation and technology, merging scientific research with creative expression and, ultimately, taking you on a journey to dream skin," said Rex.
To bring this journey to life, the brand enlisted renowned Sydney-based multidisciplinary artist, Mikka Byarugaba, also known as Mikkapedia, who has created a hypnotic audio-visual experience within the sculpture, illuminating the invisible renewal that takes place beneath the surface of our skin while we sleep.
A nod to Estée Lauder’s expertise in nighttime skincare and the brand’s iconic Advanced Night Repair serum, Byarugaba took his inspiration from the space between waking and dreaming; where reality starts to dissolve and imagination takes over.
"While You Were Dreaming is an exploration of transformation – both the kind we can see, as well as what happens while we rest," explains Byarugaba.
"I’ve created generative animations and visuals that feel fluid, organic and alive, and that evolve over time."
"I wanted to not only incorporate that sleep itself is an act of renewal but also how Estee Lauder’s expertise in nighttime skincare mirrors the deeper idea of regeneration. It felt right to build a piece that reflected both the science and the magic behind that process."
Vivid Sydney will run from Friday, May 23rd to Saturday, June 14th 2025. For more information and to plan your Vivid Sydney trip, visit vividsydney.com.
Image credit: Supplied
