Nuclear Futures

During 2014 and 2015 the Nuclear Futures program brought together professional multi-media artists and participants from atomic survivor communities to make story-based artworks that share Aboriginal and nuclear veteran experiences of Australia’s atomic test legacies.

Description of Creative works

Photomedia, screen art, immersive projection, eyewitness testimony and community commentary collide across these two companion art works, designed to screen as one program – Part A 10 Minutes to Midnight, and Part B Ngurini (Searching). They have been designed for presentation either on a flat screen with stereo sound, or on an 8 metre diameter cylindrical projection surface, with 6 projectors and 7 speakers.

There are times when resistance is not so much about a direct oppositional force and more about the persistent effort to halt the erasure of lived history and contested events, places and communities.  10 Minutes to Midnight and Ngurini (Searching) are two such pieces dedicated to exposing and remembering the legacy of Britain and Australia’s Cold War Nuclear Weapon’s testing program.  To resist is to counter dominant narratives by presenting alternative ones; by reactivating the past and reimagining the future through the eyes of those who witnessed it, our hope as artists is that future generations will continue to interrogate the official nuclear history and future of Australia.

10 Minutes to Midnight, 2015 
Multimedia projection 24 minutes
This work integrates original digital artwork, video media, dynamic sound design, and 1950s archival footage – the artist team’s response to the slow reveal of Australia’s atomic bomb test history and deep future legacies. Click here for Artists’ Statement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ngurini (Searching), 2015 
Multimedia projection 20 minutes – designed for immersive projection screening

This work explores the forced relocation and intergenerational response of Pitjantjatjara Anangu in the aftermath of Britain’s atomic testing at Maralinga in South Australia. It embodies community stories of landscape and migration, and is inspired by the resilience and hopes of current generations. This work is a culmination of a community-based arts project with Pitjantjatjara Anangu from Yalata and Oak Valley, who were relocated from traditional lands and the Ooldea Mission from 1952 when Britain commenced its nuclear testing program in Australia.

Watch an excerpt:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Screenings

Screengrab7
Pinnacles Gallery, Townsville
December 19, 2015 – February 28, 2016
Exhibition of finalists for Screengrab7 international Media Award 2015.
Screened: 10 Minutes to Midnight/Ngurini (Searching) (adapted from immersive installation for flat display)
View images from exhibition, and exhibition guide.

The Block (QUT)
Creative Industries Precinct, Kelvin Grove
Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
July 20 – August 7, 2015
Season included:  10 Minutes to Midnight/Ngurini (Searching) (360 ̊ /immersive projection installation), accompanied by Portrait of a Whistleblower exhibition, Little Boy (folded) sculpture by Yukiyo Kawano. Part of a program of arts-based public events.
View gallery program for artist statement and exhibition guide.

2015 Adelaide Fringe Festival
Balaklava Town Hall,
Balaklava, South Australia
February 13-14, 2015
Season included: 10 Minutes to Midnight (360 ̊ /immersive projection installation), accompanied byPortrait of a Whistleblower exhibition. Part of a program of arts-based public events.

2016 “Nuclear” at Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute
Tandanya Gallery,
Adelaide, South Australia
September 10 to November 9, 2016
Season included: 10 Minutes to Midnight/Ngurini (searching) (360 ̊ /immersive projection installation), accompanied by Life Lifted into the Sky (paintings), Tree of Life (sculpture), Portrait of a Whistleblower (photography) and other exhibitions.

An Alphaville and Nuclear Futures production

The two-part projection installation was produced by Alphaville, the Sydney based production company leading the Nuclear Futures program. Alphaville specializes in community arts projects that have environmental and social themes, working across local, national and international contexts. Below are the list of contributors.

Creative Team (including a bio line for each)

Teresa Crea – Direction and Dramaturgy (SA) 10 Minutes to Midnight
leading Australian theatre worker – immersive installations and simulated environments
Linda Dement – Digital and Multi-media Artwork (NSW)
internationally recognised multi-media artist for installation and augmented reality artwork
Jessie Boylan – Photography and Video (VIC)
photomedia artist and member of the Atomic Photographers Guild.
Nic Mollison – Projection, Lighting and Set Design (SA)
stage lighting & projection designer for stage and visual art installations.
Luke Harrald – Sound Design and Composition (SA)
composer, performer and new-media artist – groundbreaking work with interactive music.
Danielle Marwick – Photography and Video (QLD)
Filmmaker for documentaries and community-based filming in remote areas.
John Romeril – Research and text development (VIC)
John is a leading Australian playwright.
Russell Bryant – Interviews, community liaison (SA)
musician in the Yalata Anangu rock band, a Lutheran pastor, member Maralinga Council.
Mima Smart OAM– Interviews, translation, cultural adviser (SA)
Yalata community leader and advocate for community’s development and well-being.
Rita Bryant – Interviews, vocals (SA)
Anangu music teacher who has worked across all Maralinga schools and communities.
Sharon Bryant – Actor (SA)
Anangu performer and Yalata resident.
Keith Peters – Cultural adviser (SA)
key spokesperson for the Yalata community, and Chair of Maralinga Tjarutja Council.
Steve Harrison – Community liaison, carving (SA)
Anangu carver and painter from Yalata.
Warren Paul – Pen and Ink Drawings, Creative adviser (SA)
Anangu artist from Yalata – intricate line drawings depict dreams and political viewpoints.
Avon Hudson – Research and Community Liaison (SA)
nuclear veteran, community archivist, writer and activist.
Mariko (Rico) Ishii: Cultural exchange liaison
peace outreach and communication officer, media trainer and journalist working in Myanmar.
Paul Brown ­­– Creative Producer (NSW)
combines arts practice with academic environmental studies and community engagement.
Ellise Barkley – Production and Event Manager (NSW)
management experience in community development, creative arts, education and sustainability.
Rowan Lee – Projection and AV Technician (SA)
projection mapping, programming and software, AV, lighting and projection art.
John Turpie – Sculptor and facilitator (SA)
Sculptor, printmaker, painter and graphic designer working in public art.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Yalata Community Inc. and community, Greg Franks, Kristy Richards, Irene Peters, Avon Hudson and family, Maxine Goodwin, Maralinga Tjarutja Council, State Library of South Australia, University of Adelaide and SA Department of State Development. Operation Hurricane and Operation Buffalo archival film is courtesy of the Trustees of the Imperial War Museum. Selected content courtesy of Charles Stewart, British Nuclear Test Veterans Association, Mick Broderick, Michelle Anderson, Dave Clarke, Hillary Tyler and the Garvan Institute’s Cell Division. (Cells depicted are not related to radiation exposure and are provided for artistic purposes only.)  The installations include quotes and/or background research from Ministry of Defence File #DEFE 16/808; Beyond Belief (Roger Cross and Avon Hudson, 2006) from eyewitness accounts by Almerta Lander; Royal Commission into British Nuclear Tests in Australia documents (1985); Maralinga, the Anangu Story (Christobel Mattingley and Yalata and Oak Valley Communities, 2009); and Maralinga (Frank Walker, 2014). Material was also sourced from private archival material from Half a Life participants; and from the Ara Irititja archive.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through The Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory, and Arts SA.

For enquiries about these creative works, or to arrange a screening, pls contact: info@nuclearfutures.org