Hyperreal Tales is a series of short art films capturing the everyday here and now of people’s lives in the Shoalhaven district. It brings together participants with diverse abilities, local community and health services in an integrated dance, video and landscape project.
Hyperreal Tales created opportunities for people often excluded from mainstream arts projects. It was led by director and choreographer Philip Channells and video artist Sam James, who visited the region over the course of three years (2013-2015) to develop the project with locals.
Participants had a broad range of life experiences and included people across different generations (aged 7 – 65), cultural backgrounds, living with physical and sensory impairment or managing mental health issues.
Using movement as the initial creative impulse and mode, the artists established a nurturing and safe space for people to express themselves without judgement. The team worked together to create a series of 12 short films drawn from participants’ imaginations and real life experiences.
Hyperreal Tales was presented by the Shoalhaven Regional Gallery in 2016. It was presented as a five-screen installation with headphones; screens were installed in purpose-built cabinets designed to be accessible, at wheelchair height with audio descriptions and video captioning.
Artistic team: Philip Channells, Sam James | Choreographic Assistance Jianna Georgiou, Daniel Monks, Jesse Rochow | Illustrator Jack Tuckerman | Composer Rhiannon Bannenberg, James Brown | Audio Description Imogen Yang | Voice Over Kurt Kuzela, Liberty Thompson, Tristan Bethe-Hansen, Austin Shingleton | Arduino and Max Programming Phil Dowing
The work toured to Bussleton WA and Redlands, Queensland in 2017.
