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ILLUMINART PROJECT CASE STUDY: HARTS MILL INHABITED

Harts Mill Inhabited: A historic building is a Storyteller, in the language of Architecture and Community Lore. Let us listen well.

ABOUT THE PROJECT:

Cindi Drennan ~ Illuminart was an artist in residence during the 2009 Port Festival. Over the course of many months stories, research and community consultancy led to a new work called HARTS MILL INHABITED. This site specific audiovisual projection was developed to tell a story (using high powered audiovisual projection) on and about the historic Harts mill building, interweaving local ideas and memories of the building and the Port River, with the artist's own vision.

The story is told as though through the eyes and experiences of the Harts Mill itself, as if it is a character of many years' knowledge telling the younger buildings on the western shore of the Port River, what it has seen and may yet see.

The style is colourful and intended to be entertaining for children, so that families as a whole could appreciate the building, its impressive structure and size, and the years of history it has survived, shared in the twenty minute tale.

The projection was mapped to the western side of historic Harts Mill precinct (Adelaide Milling Company Buidling) Pt Adelaide. Motion graphics tell the story of the Port and the building, incorporating the building architecture into the imagery. It was presented as a 20 minute looping show held on three nights during the Port Festival - 14-16 October from 8PM - 10:30PM.

Composer Lou Bennet worked with Cindi Drennan from her Melbourne studio to create the audio track, and animator Nickas worked with Cindi to create the sneezing flour machine. Performers Tsubi Du and Juniper (dressed as the ghosts of ships that once sailed to the Mill) appeared in the show, and on site interacted with the audience as they viewed the Mill.

 

THE STORY WITHIN THE SHOW

The story was a twenty minute loop, and the beginning was designed to flow on after the end to suggest that the past would also be the future, whether through re-occurance or through the transferance of knowledge and language.

The story of the Mill flows through the following scenes.

A BEAUTIFUL SHELL (Sc1)
A mother and child walk apon the traditional lands and sands of the Kuarna peoples, and we hear Aunty Josie speak the traditional welcome of the Kuarna elders, which reminds us to "not forget the past" and for all people to walk together in harmony. We hear the teaching of language and words, reminding us of the importance of keeping alive our culture, history and heritage. The waters of the tidal Port River reveal a beautiful shell, and the child's voice wonders what lives in there. A hermit crab laughs and jumps into the shell, representing the importance of creative re-use and adaption, rather than throwing away what is no longer used.

PORT INHABITATION (Sc2)
The region where the Kuarna people lived is represented by flowing water, tracks and places of story and dreaming. Three fires light up, to show the Kuarna people (early colonial historical records cite three fires on the western shore of the river). The sound of wind, and wings flapping... and then a huge pelican flies past. The pelican is a bird native to the area, and a totem of some Kuarna people. The pelican opens its beak revealing sailing ships, with shadowy figures looking out at new lands. The pelican delivers the ships (perhaps like a stork delivers a baby) to new shores. The colonial mapping is overlaid over the dreaming map, roads and houses appear. The three fires are replaced by houses, but eyes appear elsewhere as the spirit of the Kuarna peoples and ancestors remain, watching.
secret trivia: It was whispered that Aunty Veronica was present for opening show, in the form of a Pelican flying past at sunset.

SHIPPING NEWS (Sc2A)
Ships sail to Port Adelaide from around the world. We read news of Captain John Hart, various voyages and his ship Isabella is wrecked.

ARCHITEXT (Sc3)
The vision of Captain John Hart is told in a poem:

To South Australia we are bound
Where Great Opportunities Abound
Wool Wheat Whale Oil Gold by the Pound
But food for our colonists must be found!
Our copious grain must be well-ground
So that Bread may be eaten all around
Let us build a mill to astound
Hart's fine flour shall be highly renowned

The shape of the future mill is drawn as a blue print by hands with quills. The building is bricked in, and as it takes shape, a face appears... the face of the building looks out apon this new landscape. What does it see? Dozens of ships in the river, sailing, working, rigging. The face of the mill is smug.
secret trivia: Kingsley Haskett turned out to be the perfect person to play the Mill looking out onto the many ships of the harbour... not only is does he have the perfect character face for the Mill, he is also a well known local boatbuilder and sailor who fought to preserve the Serle's boatyard from demolition, nearby on the Port River.

FLOUR POWER (Sc4)
As though opening up the side of a big machine, holes and cutaways appear, revealing the inner workings of the engine, cogs moving, people turning and pushing different parts of the machinery. A new machine begins to grow, we hear sneezes, farts and clangs. The machine takes the wheat, grinds it, sneezes it into bags which are then sewn up by a lady's gloved hands (representing the role of women who worked in the factory). The flour bags pile up to the very top, and mice begin to nibble the flour bags. Flour pours out of the windows of the building. Hands of many colours catch the flour, representing the many people who were fed by Harts Fine Flour or who worked within the Mill- colonists, aboriginals, gold seekers, immigrants, orphans, families around Australia. secret trivia: the best photographs of the remaining machinery in the derelict Mill were provided by members of the urbex group (C/C). The human cogs were created during a previous Illuminart project, called The Light Pirates.

CHANGE (Sc5)
The face of the building is satisfied, as a sign apon it reads: Harts Mill - open for business. The shadow of a big hand giving a thumbs up represents the owners' pride, and the shadow of a big fist shaking is Aunty Veronica and the Kuarna people whose homes were lost.

More signs are attached to the building revealing all the different stages of history that the building has "seen" from war time, immigration, change in laws for women and aboriginals, industry and trade, strikes, the shipping and the blessing of the greek fleet, the many swimming carnivals and regattas on the Port River. And finally Factory Closed, For Sale, Future Development Site and Keep Out signs are attached, so the building is completely covered. The face of the building puffs and blows the many signs away.

The mood changes, we hear the sound of jackhammers and construction, and tall buildings grow up and up, spiralling inward enclosing and confining a central heart. (Many people in Port Adelaide fear "losing the heart of the Port" through inappropriate development). The face of the building appears in the centre, terrified of what its fate may be next.

Another view of the building, and now tall apartment blocks grow up in front of it, blocking its view and hiding it from the viewer. (Many people in the community consulting expressed concerns that the significant landmark building would be hidden behind apartment blocks).

Water begins to rise up, immersing the building. The ghostly shadows of sunken sailing ships is revealed. Bubbles playfully rise up from the windows of the building, as a ghost flies past.
secret trivia: A whole scene was cut from the show at this point, to depict the Great Fire of 1905 in which the Mill was gutted. This was partly to keep the film under 20 minutes, and also to maintain the essential storyline.

MYSTERIOUS (Sc6)
The building is dark, abandoned and scary looking. Someone may be sneaking around inside, there is torch light at the windows and pigeons fly out. An enormous pigeon walks along the front of the building, cooing. It poops out an enormous yellow splat and disappears. secret trivia: The giant pigeon was one of the first characters inspired for Harts Mill Inhabited, as pigeons have made themselves a pest in the building for many years.

CREATIVE FUTURES (Sc7)
Another colourful splat lands on the building. And another, and another. More pigeon poo? Or is it now rainbow paintball? The moment of a change of mind in the viewer is important... the value of the building and the part if plays for the community is only as far away as a change of mind and change of heart in the right person and group.

Colourful splats continue to fill the building with colour. The words HARTS MILL are written apon the columns of the building. Colourful splats continue to hit the building, and then the letter H is covered by a pink splat, leaving us with the words ARTS MILL. (This part of the story is in response to the ongoing and enormous passion by a large sector of the Port community to preserve the building as an arts precinct for use by the community). More splats appear, turning the words into ARTS VILL, suggesting the role that the building and community play together in making a vibrant and creative industry and future for Port Adelaide.

The building is transformed with the dreaming map used in the first part of the story, but now interwoven with new symbols and colours, to represent the interweaving of Kuarna culture, new cultures and stories into a harmonious whole, but not forgetting the past.

Colours and shapes adorn the Harts Mill building, as the spirits of sailing ships fly past. Waves of colour wash over the building, and a large shell spirals out. A child's voice says: Look! A beautiful shell... I wonder what lives in there!" A line of ordinary everyday people walk into the shell, which spirals out to fill the whole building. secret trivia: The artist's addition of the extra paint splats to remove the H from harts mill was done in the last hours before the opening show.

NEW BEGINNINGS (A BEAUTIFUL SHELL) (Sc1)

The voice of Aunty Josie begins to speak the traditional welcome as we have returned to the beginning of the loop. But is it the past, or the future?

The Kuarna language is being kept alive through the teaching of words and stories to the next generation, which helps not only to preserve their meaning but also the ideas of the culture. Architecture is also a language, the ideals, ideas, knowledge and skills of the past speak to us through the buildings of the past, transformed with adaptive changes, creating complex and elaborate texts for us to read.

For further information contact illuminart.

 

 

 

HARTS MILL INHABITED SHOW VIDEO
is available in the following formats:

Photos and other videos of Harts Mill Inhabited:

Related Links - Background Research, Reference, Response: (SUGGEST MORE!)

Still images of Harts Mill Inhabited:

Photos courtesy of City of Port Adelaide Enfield: Port Festival.

Harts Mill Inhabited is a story in light and sound commissioned for the City of Port Adelaide Enfield: Port Festival. The artist, Cindi Drennan ~ Illuminart, has developed the story in consultation with local groups and interested residents of Port Adelaide, and would like to acknowledge and thank the many people who have contributed, in particular:

Kingsley Haskett (the face of the building)
Aunty Josie (Kaurna Voice)
Emma Webb (Creative Producer)
Lou Bennett (Composer)
Kathryn Sproul (Site Management and Lighting)
Tsubi and Juniper (Ghostly Performers)
Nickas (Machine Anime)
Lawrie Shields (Port Historical Society)
Lindl Lawton and the staff of the SA Maritime Museum
Janine Peacock
Dr Mike Bossley
Robert Petchell
Tony Kearney
Matt Rose (Festival Coordinator)
Margaret Crompton (Production Manageent)
Wizard
Craig Williams (Mosaic AV) and crew
Steve Mayhew (Local Stages Initiative)

An especial thank you to everyone in the Port Festival Team from the City of Port Adelaide Enfield and the community of Port Adelaide Enfield.