How might we use projection mapping to create an immersive visitor experience that reveals Auckland’s original shoreline and its transformation?
Auckland’s waterfront has undergone immense physical and cultural transformation. Over time, this process has redrawn the city’s edge, concealing its original shoreline and the ecosystems that once defined it.
Shifting Shorelines responds to this hidden history through interactive projection mapping, bringing the city’s buried landscapes back to light and inviting audiences to reflect on how Auckland’s relationship with the sea has evolved.
According to the Auckland Council (2023), around 60 hectares of land have been reclaimed along the waterfront, permanently altering its natural edge.
Shifting Shorelines draws inspiration from the Original Shoreline Heritage Walk, reinterpreting it through digital storytelling to make these environmental and cultural transformations visible once again.
The installation is projected onto a physical 1841 plan of Auckland, tracing the city’s transformation from coastal wetlands and estuaries to reclaimed urban land. Visitors experience two contrasting visual states:
- Regenerative (Past) – glowing forms reveal the city’s original streams and coastal boundaries.
- Reclaimed (Present) – stark overlays show how reclamation and development have reshaped the harbour.
Through shifting colour, rhythm, and light, the work transforms static historical data into a living, sensory narrative.
