Australia's Olympic breakdancer immortalized in animated light painting

There were many memorable moments at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, though arguably none more infamous than the performance of Australian breakdancer Rachael "Raygun" Gunn. 

Well, legendary light painter, Darren "Dariustwin" Pearson, has now immortalized her performance in the form of an incredible animated light painting, which you can see embedded below.

Dariustwin painted and photographed 44 individual images to create the animation, using his trusty Sony A7R V – with the exposure settings 60 secs, f/7.1, ISO800. 

Gunn has become a polarizing figure on the global stage. Her routine was universally ridiculed, coming dead last in Olympic breakdancing – which was making its debut at the Games, but will not be returning in 2028 (a decision made in 2022, which had nothing to do with anything in Paris). 

While she was championed by some for being a plucky overachiever, more sinister criticism has since been directed at the college professer (who holds a PhD in the cultural politics of breakdancing) for alleged foul play in being selected for the Olympic team – though this has since been debunked. 

Perhaps tactfully, Dariustwin did not make any personal comment about Gunn or her performance in his caption for the video when he posted it to Instagram and YouTube. 

As you might imagine, though, the comments sections were not nearly so tactful. But there were still some users who managed to praise the incredible photography while not getting nasty about Raygun. 

"Happy to see someone making art instead of making fun of her. I would hate to be in the public eye these days," wrote _photobird_ on Instagram.

"Why’s everyone gotta dog her to compliment the amazing artwork here?" asked mrsmaribethr. "Anyone loving life is the winner!"

Elsewhere, evotog.uk chimed in that "This is the content that the internet was invented for!!!" with melissalikesphotos agreeing, "Gold medal 🥇 for this one".

In case you're curious, last week Gunn made her first public comments on what happened in Paris and the firestorm that followed. You can check our her video below.

You might be interested in the best low-light cameras for trying your hand at light painting. If you want to take equipment cues from Dariustwin, check out the best Sony cameras along with the best Sony lenses.