Antarctica Arts Fellowship
John McCormick and Adam Nash - aka Wild System - were the 2019/20 Australian Antarctic Arts Fellows with the Australian Antarctic Division. We sailed on the final Antarctic voyage of the icebreaker RSV Aurora Australis, collecting data from the ship, the voyage, the scientists, expeditioners and the crew for the entire six week voyage. We used lidar scanning, photogrammetry, drone videography, and ambisonic audio recording, among other methods to capture the energy and activity of the voyage. We also spent time on Mawson and Casey stations in Antarctica, experiencing the icy continent and station life first hand. We collected massive amounts of data and modulated them into various artistic outputs:
artworks
Aurora Australis Ultimo Choro
An immersive visual and sonic feast of three-dimensional VR environments and spatial sound, visualising and sonifying the last grand Antarctic dance of the icebreaker RSV Aurora Australis, its crew, expeditioners and scientists.
exhibited:
- SIGGRAPH Asia Art Gallery. Tokyo, Japan 2021.
- Swinburne Studio, ACMI. Melbourne, Australia 2021.
- ANAT Spectra Live. Science Gallery, Melbourne, Australia 2022.
Last Dance Orange Roughy
Last Dance Orange Roughy is an immersive, large screen 3D stereo projection with multi-channel ambisonic audio. A room-sized multiple-person immersive VR experience portraying the visceral experience of the final Antarctic voyage of the icebreaker RSV Aurora Australis (affectionately know as the "Orange Roughy"), its crew, expeditioners and scientists.
exhibited:
- Antarctic Festival/Winter Light Festival. Salamanca Arts Centre, Hobart, Tasmania 2022.
Antarctica Breaking
Multi-screen video installation comprising realtime video imagery and sounds captured on the last Antarctic voyage of the icebreaker RSV Aurora Australis. It is a multi-screen journey across the timeline of the Antarctic expedition. You've heard of 'Slow TV', well this is 'Glacial TV', a truly mesmerising experience.
exhibited:
- Polar Patterns. Melbourne Design Week, Capitol Theatre, Melbourne, Australia 2021.
Aurora Australis Virtual Tour
Online 360 panorama tour. The Aurora Australis Virtual Tour allows you to take a virtual walk around the RSV Aurora Australis as it was on its last voyage to the Antarctic. Giving you unprecedented access to all of the icon that is the “Orange Roughy”.
exhibited:
- Online. Access the tour via this link
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government, through the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Australian Antarctic Division. Antarctic Arts Program: Sachie Yasuda, Tiffany Brooks.
This project has also been assisted by ANAT, the Australian Network for Art and Technology, RMIT University, and Swinburne University.
Adam and John would like to extend their thanks to all the crew and expeditioners aboard the final voyage of the RSV Aurora Australis to the Antarctic Continent.