Under Waters uncovers a speculative past of 500,000,000 (five hundred million) years ago when the majority of Earth's surface was submerged in water.

Streamed as a seamless loop, this moving image work operates as a portal—an all-access pass to a seemingly impossible dreaming — presenting ‘now’ in parallel to ‘long ago’ as a step to actualise deep time.

Extending the immense spatial and temporal scale of the work, Under Waters operates as a site for real-time play and interaction. The presence of the audience’s bodies mirror in the digital world, creating cause and effect in the unfolding scene. Immersed within the continuum of an ancient saltwater wonderland, audiences become inhabitants—activating this thriving world through movement and attentiveness.

The depths of the ocean floor present deep-water canyons, coral seas and rich kelp forests; an expansive and interconnected ecosystem. The slow propulsion through the deep reveals a rip, opening to a galactic sky: stars, nebula and infinite blackness—a reminder that deep oceans and sky are connected as one; opposing points of truth that anchor the universe.

Friends with Computers is an artist collective with Wiradjuri-Scottish artist April Phillips, virtual art director, Pat Younis, and technical director, Jordan East. Engaging cutting-edge technologies as a tool for storytelling, the group centres practices of the digital handmade — prioritising embodied attention within virtual environments.

Under Waters has been commissioned for PICA’s inaugural boorda yeyi Immersive Arts Commission. boorda yeyi, meaning ‘future now’ in Whadjuk Noongar language, is a program dedicated to expanding artistic practice through the use of technology, contributing to new ways of understanding, producing and experiencing contemporary art in Australia.

Under Waters, 10:12 mins (loop), Complex Digital Object (moving image, sound, real-time body tracking, digital sculptures, photogrammetry scans, animation, particle systems), nylon tassels, steel, and vinyl mesh.

Credits

Lead Artist / Director / Producer: April Phillips (Wiradjuri-Scottish)

Technical Director / Real-Time Artist: Jordan East

Creative Director / Real-Time Artist: Pat Younis (Lebanese Australian)

Music Composer: Mark Leahy

Sound Engineer, Sound Design: Phil Threadfall

Spoken Word, language: Sam Walker (Ngarluma)

Soprano Singer, language: Shauntai Abdul-Rahman (Wiradjuri)

WA Museum Collection Manager (Molluscs): Corey Whisson

Pointcaster Developer: Matthew Hughes

Technical Drawings, Exhibition Design: Dylan Marelić

Curator: Georgia Hayward