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ART AFTER DARK: GONDWANA by Ben Joseph Andrews and Emma Roberts 

Gondwana Rainforest


As Winter draws to a close we are thrilled to exhibit the award-winning live generative work Gondwana as part of ART AFTER DARK program on the Bunjil Place Outdoor Screen.

Bunjil Place Outdoor Screen

7 – 31 August*, 5.00 pm – 7.00 pm daily


*Not showing on 11 August, 12 August, 15 August & 19 August



Header Image: Ben Joseph Andrews and Emma Roberts, Gondwana (2022). Still from digital video.

Gondwana 

Contracting 100 years of climate data into 2 hours, Gondwana is a generative immersive environment exploring the possible futures of the world’s oldest rainforest, the Daintree. 

Like the rainforest itself, Gondwana is a system of possibilities. Weather, seasons, and biodiversity shift and change in real-time as a virtual camera freely explores a vast expanse of wild rivers, rugged gorges and ancient trees. But something stirs below: over the 2 hours, the rainforest procedurally degenerates, fed by climate data projections. 

Each time Gondwana shows is completely unique: from camera paths to weather patterns to variations in climate data. It’s a meditation on time, change and loss in an irreplaceable ecosystem. 

Watch the trailer HERE

Ben Joseph Andrews and Emma Roberts 

Ben Joseph Andrews and Emma Roberts are a producer/director duo based on Wathaurong country in regional Victoria (kayjup/Linton). Their work integrates virtual reality within audience-led installations to create collective experiences that expand perceptions, reawaken curiosity and instil a sense of awe and wonder to the mundane. 

The pair have created some of the largest location-based VR installations in Australia, including ALLTHESTARSTHEYBLEEDTOGETHER (2016) and STARLESS (2017) for City of Melbourne. Their most recent work, durational VR artwork GONDWANA (2021), premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2022 and has gone on to show at ACMI, MIT Open Doc Lab (US), Science Gallery Michigan (US), Kunstahl Charlottenborg (Denmark), and Sheffield Doc/Fest (UK) among others. It won Best Interactive/Immersive at the 2022 Australian Directors Guild Awards and the Australian International Documentary Festival awards. 

Gondwana VR

Gondwana Sunrise
Ben Joseph Andrews and Emma Roberts, Gondwana (2022). Still from digital video.