The Girraween Lagoon Story
The Girraween Lagoon Story
History
Location
Darwin International Film Festival (DIFF); Museum and Art Gallery Northern TerritoryStart date
2023-09-22End date
2023-09-24Language
English; LarrakiaNotes
The Girraween Lagoon Story Description (107 words) Girraween Lagoon, 35 kilometres southeast of Darwin, is known as the ‘place of flowers’. It’s a unique site: a waterbody where the seven seasons observed by the Larrakia people manifest clearly on the surface of the lagoon and surrounds, and where evidence of past environments is preserved deep below the water’s surface. In this immersive media experience, presented in a portable planetarium-style dome, Larrakia Elder Lorraine Williams leads viewers through the Gulumoerrgin seasonal calendar year and 140,000 years of regional environmental history uncovered through recent scientific research. The Girraween Lagoon Story is an excerpt from The Earth Above: A Deep Time View of Australia’s Epic History and was created in collaboration with the Larrakia and Wulna communities by Deakin MotionLab for the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH). Acknowledgments and credits The Earth Above: A Deep Time View of Australia’s Epic History is produced by the Deakin MotionLab for the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH). The Girraween Lagoon Story was created in collaboration with the Larrakia and Wulna communities. Producer & Editor: Martin Potter Writers: Lorraine Williams and Martin Potter Indigenous consultants and voices: Lorraine Williams, Annie Risk, Donna Jackson and Stephanie Williams Research and fact-checking: Michael Bird, Michael Brand and Cassandra Rowe (CABAH) Animators: Scott Jackson, Nick McKinnon and Angus Thomson Editor: Jagnoor Jaswal Designer: Maria Bates Sound Design: J. David Franzke Composer: Simon Walbrook Sand Artwork: Lowell Hunter Special thanks: Cian McCue and Moogie Down ProductionsResearch statement
Background Girraween Lagoon, 35 kilometres southeast of Darwin, is known as 'the place of flowers' It’s a unique site: a water body where the seven seasons observed by the Larrakia people manifest clearly on the surface of the lagoon and surrounds, and where evidence of past environments is preserved deep below the water’s surface. In this immersive media experience, presented in a portable planetarium-style dome, Larrakia Elder Lorraine Williams leads viewers through the Gulumoerrgin seasonal calendar year and 140,000 years of regional environmental history uncovered through recent scientific research. Contribution The Girraween Lagoon Story is produced by the Deakin MotionLab for the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH) and created in collaboration with the Larrakia and Wulna communities. This is an immersive experience for fulldome projection using UnrealEngine 3D animations to visualise the 7 annual seasons as described by the Larrakia. The video then unpacks a deep time story held in the ancient pollen record preserved in the sediment beneath the lagoon. CABAH researchers have taken a 19 metre core sample and using this data, the video visualises deep time landscapes going back 140,000 years. Significance This immersive experience of Girraween lagoon was premiered on Country both as part of the Darwin International Film Festival and at the Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory in a custom inflatable fulldome accompanied with contextual material including postcards, posters and videos. Over 3 days the work was experienced by 2500 people. The immersive video experience visualises for the first time the 7 seasons of the Larrakia and visually reconstructs ancient landscapes at Girraween lagoon using ancient pollen and charcoal records. The work also incorporates a substantial Larrakia language component.Publication classification
JR1 Recorded/Rendered Creative Works – Film/VideoScale
NTRO MinorExtent
Fulldome installation; 7 minute animated immersive video and surround soundscape.Editor/Contributor(s)
Williams L, Bird M, Cassandra R, Brand M, Jackson S, Thomson AEvent
Darwin International Film Festival; and Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory : Darwin, Northern TerritoryPublisher
Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH)Place of publication
Darwin, N.T.Usage metrics
Categories
No categories selectedKeywords
Australian archaeologyCharcoalCore SampleFulldomeIndigenous knowledgeLandscape reconstructionLast Glacial MaximumPlanetariumPollenVisual archaeologySchool of Communication and Creative ArtsMotion Capture FacilityDeakin MotionLab450101 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander archaeology450304 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander environmental knowledges360505 Screen media220504 Radio, television, film and video services210402 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander connection to land and environment210404 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge280113 Expanding knowledge in history, heritage and archaeology130103 The creative arts
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