hyperreal tales of the shoalhaven is a video installation of five viewing screens with 12 interweaving stories. The ideas for the films derive from 22 local participants who have been involved in this three-year (2013-2015) accumulative project. Stories are told through dance, images, words and music.

Still in development, hyperreal tales of the shoalhaven is part of Bundanon Trust’s Community Engagement Program, the Bundanon Local Project: No Time Like Now, which aims to create connections between the local community and some of Australia’s leading artists.

Getting to know each other and discovering the many individual stories and how to tell them through a physical embodiment has been an integral aspect of the creative process. The paper scrunches are an example of some of the truly remarkable material we found for this project. Philip Channells

Another key aspect of this project has been about making the works accessible, asking us to consider how we see, how we hear and how to describe art. The video installations have captioning for the Deaf and hearing impaired and audio description for the blind and vision impaired.

The final stage of this project will include filming and editing last minute pick up shots on location; editing together the documentation of the process across the 3-year period; collaborating with composer Rhiannon Bannenberg and audio describer Imogen Yang; embedding the captioning of the spoken text and designing the programming which gives the audience this  accessible option; and designing the five installation boxes to house the films.

hyperreal tales of the shoalhaven will exhibit at the Shoalhaven City Arts Centre in Nowra on the NSW South Coast from April – May 2016.

This project is supported by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, Community Partnerships section.

Photo: Sam James