Gather & Trade 2024

DANIEL ELLIOTT - VISITORS FROM DREAMS Sb51 Golden Way
‍SB51 Golden Way explores the idea of what ghosts do after death. Rather than haunting a single location, why wouldn’t a ghost use its infinite time to explore and enjoy the world around it? Hanging Rock in Nundle was chosen as the main location for this project because of its incredible views, general peace and quiet, and its history as a mining hotspot for both gold and antimony, particularly in the mid to late 1800s, leading to many untimely deaths due to accidents and sickness. While drawing from local history for its subject matter, the film also pulls from Australian animation history for its visual aesthetic, taking strong inspiration from the work of Polish-Australian filmmaker Yoram Gross (Dot and the Kangaroo, Blinky Bill), known for his signature blend of live-action background plates and hand-drawn animation composited over the top. While this process once required expensive equipment and can now largely be achieved with any computer and camera, it still requires extensive planning, with Daniel animating the film first and then using that animation as a reference for each background shot when filming on location, no doubt the reverse of how it was originally done by Yoram. SB51 Golden Way encourages you to make the drive up to Hanging Rock and take some time to relax.

NIC HUNT ‘When she sleeps, she wanders’
 
‍I wanted to capture that feeling of a chilly winter night in the Tamworth and Armidale regions. A dream within a dream... where you can gaze through the looking glass and see a reflection of your childhood wonder. Feeling the excitement of discovering a dazzling light show in the middle of your town and sharing your enjoyment with the community.

BIG SKY STUDIO ‘Clara is Dreaming...’

A collaborative animation between Daniel Baldacchino Stanley, Ethan Latsinos and Logan Hughes, depicting life in regional NSW through the lens of creativity, symbolism and meaning-making, both personal and communal. Throughout several interconnected dreams, Clara faces her fears, and in so doing, she and her community are transformed in magical and powerful ways. A celebration of the strange and wonderful creative people, particularly those younger, who add so much to the Tamworth community. Direction, Videography, Editing, Sound Design and 3D Animation by Daniel Baldacchino Stanley. Acting and 2D animation by Logan Hughes. Music and lighting assistance by Ethan Latsinos. Live musical accompaniment by Ethan & Eli Latsinos. Title images painted by Panther Hand Painted.

DANIEL ELLIOTT - VISITORS FROM DREAMS This S#@ts For The Birds
Regional living? That shit’s for the birds. I mean, I personally love it. I’m out documenting my life in the country at 5:30am every morning, but while people who don’t live in regional areas probably imagine golden sunrises and singing birds (and we definitely get those), the quiet calm of the early morning also makes it easy to notice a world that’s slowly in decline. What was once critical transport infrastructure is left to rust, shopping trolleys are strewn kilometres from their homes because there are no supermarkets near the poorer parts of town, and those trolleys almost always end up in the creek courtesy of bored teenagers during the night. Some results of this decline can be quirky and fun, abandoned homes in the middle of town with alpacas wandering around inside them, or mowing your lawn while sheep angrily stomp their feet on the other side of the fence, creating this strange feeling of two different eras colliding. But a lot of it just feels sad. And yet, amongst all of it, there are always the birds. They can fly away, go wherever they want, but they choose to stay here. They seem to love it, and so do I. S#@s for the Birds started out as two photography projects. One was called Morning Chorus, where I documented the local currawong and crow populations I encountered on my morning walks. I’ve always been fascinated by the strange line where nature merges with what mankind has created, and I can’t think of a better symbol of that than the silhouettes of birds perched on TV antennas, power lines, and streetlights against the morning light. The other project was simply titled Trolley Town, documenting shopping trolleys in places they absolutely don’t belong. I often found myself wondering how they ended up where they were. If only trolleys could talk, I’m sure they’d have some stories. They might even enjoy their adventures away from the supermarkets, even if they do become eyesores in the process. I’ve used many of these photos as references for the illustrations in this animation project. I think these two very different ideas work surprisingly well together to tell a larger story about living in a place that sometimes feels forgotten by those in charge, a feeling reinforced even more whenever I return to my hometown of Lismore in the Northern Rivers, a town devastated by floods in 2022 that still hasn’t truly recovered. These issues aren’t unique to Lismore or Armidale, you’ll find them everywhere, but there’s something particularly distinct about the feeling of nature slowly reclaiming the world around you as parts of regional life fall away. It’s a feeling I hope I’ve managed to capture and convey through this piece of work. This shit’s not for the birds because it sucks, but because sometimes it feels like, in a few more decades, all of this will belong to them.

TAMWORTH ART ACADEMY/BIG SKY STUDIO Pinky The Whale
 
Pinky The Whale was created by Daniel Baldacchino Stanley, with decorative elements added by students of Tamworth Art Academy and Logan Hughes. Pinky's animations were created by students of Tamworth Art Academy at their School Holiday Art Camp.