ABIOGENESIS - James Vu Anh Pham | WA Museum Boola Bardip

WA Museum Boola Bardip is a place to share Western Australia’s many stories. Our people, our places and our role in the world.
To celebrate the opening of the Museum with interstate and international audiences unable to travel, WA Museum Boola Bardip has collaborated with Perth Festival to produce films that showcase creative works inspired by and filmed in the stunning new Museum.
More than 100 people from Western Australia’s creative industries were employed to work on these films that highlight Western Australia’s world-class artistic talent and the Museum's stunning heritage-listed buildings and contemporary spaces.
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"ABIOGENESIS"
Director: David Vincent Smith
Cinematographer: Lewis Potts
Producers: Tania Chambers, Clint Logan
Choreographer and dancer: James Vu Anh Pham
Supported by: STRUT Dance
Composer: Brian Kruger
FEATURED WA MUSEUM BOOLA BARDIP LOCATIONS
Origins gallery; Terrazzo grand staircase; The Lantern viewing point, Gold nautilus staircase.
DIRECTOR'S NOTES
Abiogenesis: the creation of organic molecules by forces other than living organisms.
James and I met for the first time at the Museum with very little time until the shoot. I was dreaming of devising a new work but this required having someone I had just met, placing their trust in me; there was certainly an element of risk. Let’s just say it was an artistic marriage made in heaven. James is a world class talent when it comes to dance but what he brought was the same artistic aspirations and with that, we were off running through the Museum dreaming of possibilities for our new work together.
To help execute this vision I had my eyes, cinematographer Lewis Potts, who captured the spirit of the piece and elevated it tenfold. Lewis and I have been working together forever and we have an unwavering trust in each other. Brian Kruger has been composing music for my visions for nearly a decade, his pursuit for excellence is always inspiring.
Developing this piece was a creative dream. It was really important to me that we created a brand-new work, directly informed by the space. All the dance, camera movement, music and lighting was site specific and heavily improvised. It was such a privilege to have incredible artists place their trust in me to direct this video, collaborate and devise this work.
I developed a narrative thread which informed our movements throughout the day of shooting. We chased the story of an entity (our dancer) born from the Museum’s golden light and the architecture itself. As this new life explores the vast scale of the building, the music expands and our entity grows in confidence; dancing within the space. Through music and movement, the dancer and building communicate before ultimately returning back into the walls where it spawned.
© Western Australian Museum 2020