The Magnetic Quiet Zone

The Magnetic Quiet Zone is a multimedia work cocreated with two of my fellow CIs from the ARC DP “Creative Antarctica”. TMQZ is a narrativized account of a single summer at Casey Station that employs no words or actors, only visual and audio recordings plus creative responses gathered or based on our experiences as recipients of separate Antarctica Arts Fellowships in that location. TMQZ combines Dr Martin Walch’s visual record of his time there with Prof Philip Samartzis’s (RMIT) field recordings and my ambient reflections, resulting in a work that has reached different audiences than our individual works alone could have and prompting new understandings of how such narratives are created and the impacts they can have on society. TMQZ builds on my growing interests in spatialised sound and audionarratology—specifically, exploring the use of diegetic and nondiegetic sound to create narratives that lack other conventional elements. My contribution to this work elaborates practical techniques and understandings I’ve developed through making ambient and experimental music in recent years (such as in the related work Hyperaurea) and speaks to college and uni strategic priorities though developing deep expertise in interdisciplinary work that aims to transform society/solve complex societal challenges by increasing understandings of Antarctica and its fragility through new/hybrid media forms. Subsequent iterations are developing and building mutually beneficial partnerships with other organisations (beyond UTas, where the work was first performed) while undertaking high quality and innovative research, bringing together interdisciplinary teams to tackle societal challenges (e.g. climate change) through research and innovation.