Gondwana & Songbird

Programme

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  Songbird (Lucy Greenwell, GB/DK 2018)

  Experience an enchanting virtual trip to the lush cloud forests of Kauai, Hawaii. The island is rich in unique, indigenous birds, but many are gravely endangered. For some it is even too late, as is the case for the illustrious ʻōʻō bird. The VR experience Songbird – produced by The Guardian – you follow in the footsteps of scientist Dr Jim Jacobi, who was the last person to see an ʻōʻō, in 1985. Hear the last song of a bird whose enchanting melody resounds around a forest forever changed by its disappearance. Songbird is not only a wonderful, hand-painted work of art, and the story of the legendary ʻōʻō, it is also a stark reminder of the ecological challenges facing Hawaii and a moving means of experiencing nature’s vulnerability.

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  Gondwana (Ben Joseph Andrews, AU 2022)

  Gondwana is a continuously evolving virtual ecosystem that explores the possible futures of the world’s oldest rainforest’s, the Daintree in Australia. Climate, the seasons and biodiversity shift dynamically as you freely wander an extensive map of old trees and rare animals. However, a bigger story is also unfolding: during the day the rainforest diminishes according to climate projections from 1990 to 2090. The only hope for this seemingly inevitable loss is mankind: the more time people spend in Gondwana, the more resilient the forest becomes. During this VR programme, the forest is reborn and a new climate future is outlined for it every day. Gondwana is a meditation on time, change and climate campaigning for an ancient slice of earth of inestimable value.