Documenting the Fire: Ngaiire’s PAIA at Carriageworks
Subject: Audience at PAIA, by Ngaiire
Some performances burn themselves into memory. PAIA, by Ngaiire, did more than that. It set the stage alight with ritual, rage, release, and story.
Commissioned by Carriageworks for Vivid Sydney 2025, PAIA was a bold multi-sensory experience grounded in ancestry, ceremony, and sonic power. Ripple Narratives was invited to photograph the event, capturing the intimacy and intensity of an artist at her creative peak.
A Ritual in Motion
The title PAIA comes from the Tok Pisin word for “fire,” and Ngaiire made good on the promise. What unfolded on stage was not just performance. It was cleansing. A reckoning. A prophecy.
Working in close collaboration with award-winning director Dino Dimitriadis, Ngaiire fused music, movement, and visual storytelling into a singular experience. Every element on stage carried weight, from the smoke and lighting to the gestures, garments, and soundscape. This was not a concert. It was a cultural force.
Subject: Ngaiire
Our Role Behind the Lens
Our brief from Carriageworks was clear. Capture the spirit of PAIA in stills. Work quietly. Work intuitively. And honour the space.
As photographers, it’s rare to witness a performance so fully committed to transformation. From the first shot to the final frame, we moved with sensitivity and purpose. We focused on Ngaiire’s physical presence, the emotion etched in movement, and the unspoken connection between performer and audience.
Ngaiire has since shared our images widely. That tells us the photographs didn’t just document the show. They helped carry it forward.
Subject: Ngaiire
Why It Matters
PAIA is the kind of work Ripple Narratives exists to engage with. It’s about identity, power, reclamation, and release. It’s about cultural storytelling that isn’t boxed in by expectation but expands into something elemental.
For us, this wasn’t just an assignment. It was an invitation into a sacred space, lit by fire and held in ceremony.
We are proud to have contributed to that story, even briefly, through the language of image.
Subject: Audience at PAIA, by Ngaiire
