Artistic representations of extreme weather events variously convey the trauma of past events, reflect contemporary risk, and posit futures fraught with natural catastrophe. Bushfire, storm and flood shape the natural environment and are omnipresent within cultural landscapes. Artistic representations of such extreme weather events variously convey the trauma of past events, reflect contemporary risk, and posit futures fraught with natural catastrophe. There is a growing body of research that suggests direct experience of weather events can foster genuine, sustained action and/or support to tackle climate change. The underlaying research question for this study is:
How might virtual environments be developed to enable the quasi-experience of extreme weather events, such as cyclone, flood and bushfire?
The studio focussed on abstraction and foregrounded the capacity of spatial sound to produce temporal, immersive experiences. Sound, in combination with deliberately abstract motion graphics that trigger kinaesthetic affect, were explored for their capacity to convey the ELEMENTAL qualities of extreme weather.
Studio participants created immersive spatial soundscapes and abstract motion graphics designed to generate emotive and engaging temporal experiences. This will involve both analogue (recorded sound and video) and digital techniques (using Reaper, Adobe After Effects and the Unreal videogame engine software.
