the ‘parallaxis’ short film follows two augmented humans as they survey earth’s terrain

set amid the extraordinary landscape of the wimmera-mallee wheatbelt in australia, matthew bird’s latest moving-image work explores the ways in which we navigate, hold, and alter space. launched at the adelaide international festival in early 2020 alongside a solo exhibition at samstag museum of art, adelaide, parallaxis follows two futuristic human figures as they survey the unforgiving terrain using large cylindrical instruments.

arrival

all images and main video courtesy of matthew bird

the concept behind the short film considers the potential for architectural processes and measurements to act as a foundation for understanding and fixing an earthly position. in orbit from an uncertain future, two augmented humans investigate their possible archaic genealogy in a wimmera past. arriving temporarily and somewhat unexpectedly in the present, the inquisitive duo put their surveillance face-halos to work: observing, recording, archiving ephemeral moments and navigational discoveries as they speed through the landscape.

operational

their biomechanically engineered apparatus are cross-fed into the telemetry of the full-body gyrocompass each visitor operates. systems in systems, wheels within wheels, spin-axis atop spin-axis, each revolution is another attempt to locate and momentarily fix a collective bearing in space and time. only when the true center is found can all other bodies be understood in relation to it.

surveying an abandoned cottage in the wimmera

the film follows a choreographed survey of the region: the pair roll on as twin trajectories covering the earth, with face-halos extending the perceptual range of each visitor within. inspiralling sequences detect, measure and map an intergenerational existence: connecting the now, before, and future of this ecosystem with the celestial beyond. body, machine and media carve through the terrain – gimbals spin and swerve through the farmed grain.

interior

the two futuristic figures are in the middle of nowhere and no time, but this place is full of memory and materials. a kaleidoscope of hidden cycles are revealed. environmental vicissitudes. war. massacre. treaty. economic speculation. cultural decline. boom. bust. kim kardashian. settlement, migration, exclusion, withdrawal. hope. decay. birth. death. afterlife.

murra warra wind farm

surveying the now redundant murtoa stick shed

aerial view of lake tyrrell, a shallow, salt-crusted depression in the mallee

interpose

observing

navigational

gazing into the night sky

project info:

project name: parallaxis

team: matthew bird (concept & sculpture) with lilian steiner & ashleigh mclellan (performers), james wright, eugene perepletchikov (photography), daniel jenatsch (sound composition), geoffrey watson & charity edwards (costume), bluebottle (lighting)

photography: james wright (film stills) & sam noonan (exhibition)

curator: joanna kitto, samstag museum of art

in conjunction with university of south australia master of architecture students, led by senior lecturer rachel hurst

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.