‘My grandmothers Lingo’ was a very engaging interactive animation where you are brought to the next chapter once you’ve spoken a word from the Indigenous Marra language. It’s a language part of the estimated 90% of indigenous languages in Australia that are now endangered. As you move through the piece you are required to make an attempt at pronouncing different words of the Marra language, it is challenging but incentivises the audience as you gather more of the narrative and you’re taught more as you read. The roughly ten minute experience was launched by SBS a platform that enables stories to be told from a diverse range of narrators and writers. The narrative is part game, part documentary and it follows the story of Angelina Joshua from Ngukurr in southeast Arnhem Land. Her purpose is to rediscover her grandmothers language.
‘My Grandmothers Lingo’ used different media forms that were interconnected to consider how gaming technology, like voice-activated interactions can engage diverse users with underrepresented indigenous stories. I found that the animation and narration seemed nostalgic, beautiful and airy as you could see different illustrations appear on the screen coordinating with the story being told; like animation of a river and birds flying just after getting a word correct. The narration allowed for tone and colour to be added to the words, it brought the story to fruition. Throughout the story, text is used sparingly to create a strong atmosphere, I felt more engaged by the story even though the text was limited. There wasn’t much multitasking needed as I would listen and read a little bit that popped up on the screen, it allowed me to immerse myself in what Angelina was speaking to. It was rewarding when I’d get the pronunciation correct and gain more insight into the language and story of Angelina’s grandmother and culture of her world. It told a personal story but also commented on societal issues around indigenous languages being lost.
The work used animation and illustration instead of photography, this could have been for cultural reasons. The illustrations were authentic and seemed child-like adding to the dreamy and innocent appearance it had. It raised the question as to whether the purpose of the piece was to teach or raise awareness. I think it successfully did both, it taught but also disseminated the facts about the widespread loss of indigenous peoples native tongue.
I thought the conclusion was really powerful because you could pin your location on a map, adding a star to the constellation of places where Marra has now been spoken. It’s not a language lesson necessarily, you won’t leave My Grandmother’s Lingo with any full sentences however it brings a humanity to a culture and its language through the simple action of asking you to say its vanishing words aloud. It is engaging and makes the audience understand and listen carefully.
This piece is part poetry part artwork. The poem was written by Denise Levertov for For Carolyn Kizer and John Woodbridge, and its purpose was to recall the celebration of George Herbert’s Birthday in 1983. Along with the poem is an acrylic painting done by Calida Garcia Rawles. The painting and poem compliment one another to bring the poem to life as it’s about swimming and the painting is of a girl in the water. It’s engaging as the short stanza of the poem highlights the beauty of being amongst water.
The composition on the piece is simple and easy to follow. You see the large, clear acrylic painting in high definition, with the short poem below it. First your attention is brought to the painting and then to the short poem beneath it. The poem is quite ethereal and exerts a feeling of calmness, similar to the painting.
This work of mine centres on a story about a place and takes a ‘literary journalism’ approach. It uses visuals, photographs and text to portray the story about a special place someone I know goes to, to seek peace and a sense of belonging. I’ve used images of the place along with text to support my story, the writing is poetic. I was inspired by the reading on Joan Didion ‘Slouching toward Bethlehem’ and the poems she has imbedded in her non-fiction stories that seem to have a fictional side to them.
Next time I could add in some moving image to highlight the space through hand held shots. I’m happy with the way I composed the piece, I feel as though the repetition of the marble stacked above the writing gives the piece a sense of what the space is like in real life, through composing it this way it adds a visual effect that compliments the writing. The story is of someone I know who enjoys visiting this place and sketching out the marble archway. I wanted it to be a fast paced story that was simple and easy to engage with, nothing too long and drawn out, like Joan Didion’s work I wanted it to be short and sweet but impactful, not excluding any details.
I wanted the reader to feel immersed in the journey and story.