The research at super-site 1 , a peri-urban conservation research facility in SE Qld, began in late 2018 – initially through my process of learning to fly UAVs (drones). On application, I was given permits to fly around the wide open paddock on the NE corner of the site, as controlled access to the site made for the perfect flight testing area. It was during those trips, I began to appreciate the richness of the property – reserved for conservation over the decades, and originally owned by an renowned entomologist and her family – thus resulting in the conserving of one of the now rare remaining patches of predominantly uncleared forest cover in the valley. (Many thanks to site manager Marcus for all his assistance and welcoming).
I began to think about the possibility of a creative incubator on this site – not unlike I had done a few years back through a series of residencies (called Re-introduction) with the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, funded by the ANAT Synapse Art Science residency program. This emerging idea for a new creative incubator was tested out in a conference presentation at ANAT Spectra Art-Science 2018 with Tania Leimbach – an innovative thinker working at the environmental/arts/sustainability nexus who is connected with Sydney’s Institute for Sustainable Futures. Our thinking will next appear in a forthcoming paper for the British journal Antennae (The journal of Nature in Visual Culture).
Uncanny Valleys 