“Meta-narratives” presented by Cmielewski and Waite
Symposium:
Session Title:
- Technology (Panels & Roundtables)
Presentation Title:
- Meta-narratives
Presenter(s):
Venue(s):
Abstract:
Storytelling with images may be our first record of narratives, such as sand drawings and rock carvings in the western desert tradition through to interactive meta‑narratives being produced today. meta‑narratives, the exhibition, will present works by artists who re‑interpret the manner in which stories are told. The artists are presenting large tales and small relying on the specifics of the locations from which the stories are sourced. The stories are site‑specific (the moon, a small town off the coast of South Eastern Australia, Arnhem Land). meta‑narratives presents contemporary, frequently interrupted, reception of texts and histories as explored by artists who find new modes of presenting our stories back to us. The oldest work (requiring to be sourced as loans) will be an animation of a bark painting depicting the journey between two islands in the north of Australia. The audio and video recordings formed part of Little Painting, Big Stories: Gossip Songs of Western Arnhem Land exhibition at the University of Western Australia. meta‑narratives includes works like the Book of Luna which is an interactive cabinet of curiosities collecting differing perspectives and responses to our view of the moon. Penumbra uses a hybrid art/literature application in development for tablet media. It expands ‘ebook’ conventions by carefully integrating video, illustration and fiction. Law of the Tongue (Helyer) presents a tale of the only documented example of inter‑species collaboration. A key consideration in selecting the works is that they have a highly resolved visual aesthetic approach to their content. They are poetic in their visualization and audio portraiture of stories and histories. They are all exemplary in the finely crafted use of electronic and digital arts and are highly sophisticated in the way the stories have been resolved for audience engagement and to stimulate the curious.
