Location
Waterfront Gallery; Sally Walker Building; Alfred Deakin Prime Ministerial Library GalleryStart date
2024-07-09End date
2024-09-27Indigenous content
This research output may contain the names and images of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people now deceased. We apologise for any distress that may occur.Language
EnglishNotes
The Fire Within is a trans-disciplinary exhibition launched at Deakin’s Geelong Waterfront Campus during NAIDOC Week 2024. It showcased the groundbreaking planetarium production 'The Earth Above: A Deep Time View of Australia’s Epic History', produced by the Deakin Motion Lab, alongside a site-specific artwork led by First Nations contemporary artist Lowell Hunter. It was a collaboration that included professional and academic staff, undergraduate students, local community and industry. Supported by funding from state and federal government, this project resulted in a truly unique cultural and educational experience centred on innovative Deakin research.
A collective effort of the cross-disciplinary team that developed the landmark 2024 exhibition The Fire Within at Deakin's Geelong Waterfront Campus. As a platform for innovative Deakin research, this exhibition provided a rich cultural and learning experience for all of Deakin's communities.
The Fire Within exhibition was supported by the State Government of Victoria through a $20,000 Creative Victoria grant, $10,000 in funding from CABAH and $70,000 in-kind support from the
exhibition presentation partner Fulldome Pro, a Geelong-based immersive technology supplier.Research statement
Background
Developed in response to the NAIDOC Week 2024 theme ‘Keep the fire burning: Blak, loud and proud’, The Fire Within supports advancement of First Nations knowledges. The exhibition provided a unique cultural experience, entwining fields across Indigenous Studies with emerging research from visual arts, screen and digital media, and archaeology. This project traces connections between archaeology and Indigenous knowledge systems and explores how combined efforts and knowledge of Indigenous communities with researchers and artists can increase public engagement and awareness of Australia’s Indigenous heritage and identity.
Contribution
The Fire Within exhibition showcases Embers of Connection: A Journey Through Fire, Sand and Country – a new site-specific sand artwork by artist Lowell Hunter (Nyul Nyul), augmented with motion capture animation video projections by the Deakin MotionLab, and multi-screen video installation and multi-channel audio. This work is presented alongside a custom constructed fulldome immersive exhibition of the groundbreaking immersive digital production The Earth Above: A Deep Time View of Australia’s Epic History. Together, these complementary experiences explore cultural connection to place within both Wadawurrung Country and across Australia.
Significance
This exhibition, led by Deakin Library, Deakin Motion Lab, CABAH, and artist Lowell Hunter, was a major NAIDOC initiative. With $100,000 in funding and in-kind support, it drew over 1000 visitors through media coverage, including the National Indigenous Times, ABC Radio, and international conferences. It offered an immersive learning experience for Deakin undergraduates and high school students. This project showcases successful collaboration between Deakin University, local communities, and industry partners and will be featured in a 2026 Special Issue of Annals of the American Association of Geographers, co-authored by Potter and Hunter.Publication classification
JC2 Curated Exhibition or Event – Exhibition/EventScale
NTRO MajorExtent
6.7 x 6.7 metre circular sand artwork with ochre and cultural artefacts (artist: Lowell Hunter).
1 x motion captured ‘digital twin’ animated video (6 minutes). This video produced by Potter and the DML features motion capture of lead artist Lowell Hunter (Nyul Nyul) with Paul PK Kelly (Gunditjmara - Kirrae Wurrong) performing several dances that mirror the stories encoded in the sand artwork. The resulting animation transforms the motion capture of Hunter and Kelly into ancestral bodies dancing on a digital reconstruction of the sand artwork with a perpetual fire burning in the centre of the reconstructed artwork.
1 x 6-channel audio installation – the audio, recorded and designed by Potter with Deakin student Ryan Bruton features atmospheric recordings of significant places in Lowell Hunter’s life – from a beach on Nyul Nyul country – Beagle Bay, far north West Australia to a recording of a performance on didgeridoo, sticks and vocals by Hunter and Kelly, and fire burning in a ceremonial bowl at the foot of the You Yangs, Wathaurong Country, Victoria. Visitors walk through the foyer entry to a soundscape of Beagle Bay beach. On entry to the main foyer of the Sally Walker Building visitors move through audio recorded from across Eatern Maar and Wautharong country, providing an audio locative framing to the work.
1 x 180 degree immersive video presented within a portable dome.
Exhibition design elements – substantial visual exhibition design and didactics provide context to each facet of the work across the main spaces, designed by Sarah Fennelly and Christopher Callil.
1 x 3 screen video evoking the construction of the artwork and the motion capture process and digital reconstruction. This video was produced by Potter working with Deakin FTVA students Callum Davies, Ruben Franceschi and Ryan Bruton.
1 x 2 channel video in Waterfront Gallery showcasing construction of Hunter’s work using drone and other video produced by Potter with Callum Davies and RubenEditor/Contributor(s)
Kelly P, Fennelly S, Callil C, Greuter S, Jackson S, McKinnon N, Taylor S, Buckley L, Coorey D, Davies CM, DeFranceschi R, Clarke A, Atkins T, Bruton RRecognition, awards & prizes
State Government of Victoria funding through a $20,000 Creative Victoria competitive, peer-reviewed grant.
ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage funding, $10,000.
$70,000 in-kind support from the exhibition presentation partner Fulldome Pro, a Geelong-based immersive technology supplier.
MEDIA
‘The Fire Within’: Geelong Advertiser, (July 4); ABC Radio, (July 8); Geelong Independent (July 8); NIT News (July 10).
LINKS
Deakin Library Exhibition Page:
https://www.deakin.edu.au/library/use-our-libraries/exhibitions-and-programs/exhibitions/the-fire-within
Media Release
https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/news-and-media-releases/articles/the-fire-within-new-exhibition-explores-cultural-connection-to-place
EXAMPLE INSTAGRAM POSTS reaching over 100k people:
Deakin Library: https://www.instagram.com/p/C9UG7YnpmRb/?hl=en
Lowell Hunter (Salty One): https://www.instagram.com/p/C9M2zD3h4xC/Event
The Fire Within exhibition showcasing Embers of Connection: A Journey Through Fire, Sand and Country and The Earth Above: A Deep Time View of Australia’s Epic History.Publisher
Deakin Library ExhibitionsPlace of publication
Geelong
