Cosmic Odyssey
2022
The glowing Celestial Plankton are drawn to one another across the cosmos, forming funnels of consciousness which fill a newborn’s void. A symphonic art film - the final production in the Cosmic Anthology series of artworks and films (2016-2022) - inspired by equal parts Fantasia and 2001: A Space Odyssey with a foundation in the Buddhist understanding of the six elements, by filmmaker and projection artist David C Mahler.
For more information on Cosmic Anthology please visit the project's page, and the project's vimeo.
Thank you to Kristen, Hac, Chris Webb, Susan and Peter Mahler, and the Myer Foundation.
This film couldn't have been made without the grateful support of a Myer Foundation National Assistance Program for the Arts grant.
Director's statement:
This film is my attempt to visualise the journey of an intangible force. Having grown up in a Buddhist household, the concept of the six elements is something that I have considered for many years. Where does consciousness come from? Does it constantly surround us, is there some place it emerges from? After exploring these questions in more abstract manners in my previous films, projection pieces and painting suite (Cosmic Anthology, 2016-2022) I decided to close off this body of work by utilising a Myer Foundation grant to experiment with practical effects and digital animation.
Taking a cue from the late Douglas Trumbull and his groundbreaking special effects work, I have attempted to reimagine my painting style as moving images by filming coloured oils and liquids interacting in closeup. To help contextualise this concept is the simple narrative of what is essentially a soul, or perhaps the fragments of a soul, journeying across space to inhabit a newborn.
I hope my latest short film inspires a sense of awe and wonder, while simultaneously encouraging viewers to consider their connection to the universe and to one another.
Copyright 2022
2022
The glowing Celestial Plankton are drawn to one another across the cosmos, forming funnels of consciousness which fill a newborn’s void. A symphonic art film - the final production in the Cosmic Anthology series of artworks and films (2016-2022) - inspired by equal parts Fantasia and 2001: A Space Odyssey with a foundation in the Buddhist understanding of the six elements, by filmmaker and projection artist David C Mahler.
For more information on Cosmic Anthology please visit the project's page, and the project's vimeo.
Thank you to Kristen, Hac, Chris Webb, Susan and Peter Mahler, and the Myer Foundation.
This film couldn't have been made without the grateful support of a Myer Foundation National Assistance Program for the Arts grant.
Director's statement:
This film is my attempt to visualise the journey of an intangible force. Having grown up in a Buddhist household, the concept of the six elements is something that I have considered for many years. Where does consciousness come from? Does it constantly surround us, is there some place it emerges from? After exploring these questions in more abstract manners in my previous films, projection pieces and painting suite (Cosmic Anthology, 2016-2022) I decided to close off this body of work by utilising a Myer Foundation grant to experiment with practical effects and digital animation.
Taking a cue from the late Douglas Trumbull and his groundbreaking special effects work, I have attempted to reimagine my painting style as moving images by filming coloured oils and liquids interacting in closeup. To help contextualise this concept is the simple narrative of what is essentially a soul, or perhaps the fragments of a soul, journeying across space to inhabit a newborn.
I hope my latest short film inspires a sense of awe and wonder, while simultaneously encouraging viewers to consider their connection to the universe and to one another.
Copyright 2022
