Inside Australia
On a vast salt lake surrounded by red earth, renowned British sculptor Antony Gormley embarks on a sculptural installation that awakens a small Goldfields town in remote Western Australia. Near the tiny outback town of Menzies, 650 kms from Perth, Western Australia, lays the vast Lake Ballard. This timeless place has become home to Gormley’s most ambitious work to date, Inside Australia. Fifty-one sculptures stand silently in the hot desert wind, capturing a moment in time. The installation celebrates Menzies - a community that has taken this journey with an artist willing to break the mould of tradition. It also celebrates an extraordinary place.
Antony Gormley describes discovering the Lake: “I’ll never forget that first approach when you come the edge of the salt lake, it is absolutely magic. The feeling of being at the edge of endlessness - being on the lip of the edge of the world.”
The Perth International Art Festival commissioned Gormley to create the installation; but it was Gormley who chose to make this new work in one of the remotest and harshest regions of the world.
The film follows Gormley into the Menzies community, into the western desert, and shares his passion for all aspects of this hard land. Gormley says: “Having discovered this extraordinary place, which I thought had such a strong mythological feeling, I couldn’t believe it wasn’t strong dreaming to the original people - I then had to find the today people.”
So the film discovers the mining giants and the self-made prospectors, the pastoralists running thousands of sheep on their million acre properties, and the original inhabitants, the Aboriginal people for whom Lake Ballard is part of an ancient homeland. Lake Ballard unravels as a complex and contested space.
Gormley says in the film: “I didn’t know anything about the geology of Western Australia when I first went, you feel immediately here you are flying over a very ancient continent. It’s almost like your heart starts beating slower, everything slows down and you’re close to something that is close to the beginning of things.” The documentary captures a physical, creative and spiritual journey. It explores the nature of landscape and of sculpture, rocks and the reason human beings make art.
Gormley calls his sculptures on Lake Ballard ‘Insiders’, for they are his attempt to capture the essence of the human body and the traces – minerals, memories, history – that each body carries within it. But this film also reveals some of the challenges an outsider faces when exploring Inside Australia. He gives an answer to the challenge that he has no business to be there: “I can accept that very deep sense of suspicion that somebody who is unfamiliar in a very, very real way with the territory should seek to interpret it. In a curious way, I don’t think I’m doing any interpreting. I’m trying to allow things that are already there to be seen more clearly. I hope what it represents is an open attitude as to what art can be.”
This documentary reaches under the surface of an isolated yet complex community. It makes a journey through one of the most ambitious art projects of recent times, going from the concept, through scanning, casting, transportation, to installation – all the steps that take an artist from idea to creation. And we hear the response of the people to the work. This is a film that indeed reaches Inside Australia.
The sculptural installation Inside Australia was commissioned by the 2003 Perth International Arts Festival.
buy now STREAM/DOWNLOAD
reviews
"We welcome the return of the impeccable Who Do You Think You Are?"
"A documentary that confronts, questions and raises many issues:medical ethics,personal choice and funding priorities - but none more so than the rights of the disabled, and of a mother and father."
"… is full of emotion,heartache,frustration and determination."
"… essentially a story of courage"
‘The filmmaker creates a perceptive, multilayered understanding of the young refugees’ experiences’
‘Delightful’
‘It is hard to remain dry-eyed as the schools multicultural soccer team sings Advance Australia Fair in the bus home from a match.'
"... already acknowledged as the world's most exciting visual and physical theatre company...the reason to go and see Stalker is the way they marry jaw dropping spectacle with real purpose."
"This is engaging and entertaining telly that also has something important to say"
"Set in WA, this is one reality series we all should watch."
"Setting this documentary apart…is the effort it makes to humanise the poachers and explain the circumstances which compels them to hunt."
"A dose of Reality TV without the hype"
"All three groups of fishermen feature in Lobster Tales, an ABC documentary that will change the way you look at these delicious crustaceans forever."
“The great achievement of Lobster Tales, a delightfully oddball WA-made documentary on the lucrative local crayfish industry ... strikes such a lovely balance between the lobsters and fishermen that it’s more like a well-wrought tragi-comedy than a traditional nature doco"
“Even for non-lobster-lovers, this quirky feature provides plenty of interest ... the highlight is the underwater photography by Leighton de Barros which is up-close and stunning."
"shows ordinary people doing extraordinary things ... the program usues the magic of TV to bring an important WA story to life"
“Though it’s not easy to watch a widow finally open up about her murdered husband (nor is it comfortable watching local Iraqis genuinely praise Saddam Hussein), Salam Father is yet another reason why the terms "SBS" and "quality documentary" fit like a hand in glove."
“A sense of reconciliation emerges in the program and there's considerable poignancy as elements of a family torn apart by war, politics and circumstance are reunited…"
“This is the compelling story of a family torn apart by war, envy, corruption and greed and how a quest for answers also helped heal old wounds. It might also help people look beyond the descriptions "refugee" and "asylum seeker" to see the person and their story…A powerful piece of television, made more authentic by Ziusudras' first-hand narration of this tale.”
"This documentary never becomes bogged down in legalese and is a compelling tale of one family's devotion to their son"
"A remarkable story and a clever and affecting piece of storytelling"
"An emotional journey...unflinchingly captured on camera"
Koori queens proudly get out and about in this high-spirited and affirming documentary."
"We get a rare glimpse into the world of indigenous gay men in tonight's Sissy ... an energetic, inventive and occasionally touching Western Australian-made documentary that looks at the lives of three colourful drag queens."
"Considering the double whammy served up by homophobia and racism, Sissy insists on having a good time while handling thought-provoking material."
[Shaun Micallef’s] quest to discover if there is ‘‘greater purpose than being a semi-professional Australian TV personality’’ makes for a funny and watchable journey.
Filled with wit, warmth and revelations, Stairway To Heaven will intrigue even non-believers.
"It's a compelling story and you made a compelling film out of it. Just terrific."
"A fascinating insight into the world of the night"
“Surprising, raunchy, hilarious, crazy! Expect the unexpected!”
"Puppetry most certainly is an art from and some of the performances here will take your breath away"
“I have been directly or indirectly involved in WDYTYA productions in the U.S., Canada and the U.K …I must say that this one [Andrew Denton's episode] of the very best I have seen”
"...it's the most engaging detective series in years"
"... surprising, extraordinary and often moving"
"A compelling, lovely adaption of an excellent British format"
"One of the reliable pleasures of this series is just how great it looks. The production values are always first-class and wherever we are in Australia or the world, you can't quibble with the scenery. Who Do You Think You Are? is about much more than looking pretty, though, blending history and biography to create a package that's accessible, entertaining and educational. (FOUR STARS)"
“It's the perfect mix of history and celebrity..."
"... this program has about it a quiet authenticity that allows the subject’s story to unfold of its own accord."
"The series is more than a peek into the backgrounds of the famous; it also chronicles the social and cultural evolution of our national identities via these celeb family histories. 4/5 stars"
"Each episode is essentially a feature documentary, well-researched and produced, and presented usually with a humorous or deeply emotional touch... This show is seriously habit-forming"
This series is fascinating and so well done...
(pick of the week)
"... explores the family histories of its subjects with class and humour. Verdict: A Hit."