Aṉangu share the Mala story, from Kaḻṯukatjara to Uluṟu, through a drone, sound and light show designed and produced by Ramus.
Aṉangu share the Mala story, from Kaḻṯukatjara to Uluṟu, through a drone, sound and light show designed and produced by Ramus.
Indigenous storytelling will take to the skies in Central Australia as state-of-the-art drone technology takes off this week, creating a new experience for visitors at Uluṟu.
The ongoing nighttime experience, launched on May 10, tells a chapter of the Mala story fromKaḻṯukatjara to Uluṟu, engaging visitors through immersive light and sound. It’s taken three years of development and A$10 million (roughly NZ$10.6 million) to set the technological show in motion.
The name of the experience is Wintjiri Wiṟu, which roughly translates to English as a suggestion of a ‘beautiful view out to the horizon’. It is the first time an Indigenous story will be told through lasers, projection, lights and drones on such a large scale and with such frequency – from May to December, two sessions will be held every night (with reduced frequency at other times in the year).
Aṉangu share the Mala story, from Kaḻṯukatjara to Uluṟu, through a drone, sound and light show designed and produced by Ramus.
It involves the choreography of 1100 drones over nine minutes, which move together to produce colourful images and shapes. Along with the visuals, Wintjiri Wiṟu utilises a carefully spatialised audio system, playing background music of the inma (this loosely translates as ‘stories sung and danced’) and narration through the local Pitjantjatjara Yankuntjatjarra language (an English aural translation will also play).
The production of Wintjiri Wiṟu included collaboration between Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia and media architecture studio Ramus, and consultation with Aṉangu, who hold the Mala story told through the display.
Rene Kulitja of the Aṉangu Consultation Committee welcomes the launch of the experience, saying, “People from every place have come to see Uluṟu. Now we want people to come and experience our story in a new way. We want visitors to know this is our story, to look and listen and feel with us. Our stories have been here since the beginning, and we want to share this story with the world.”
Aṉangu share the Mala story, from Kaḻṯukatjara to Uluṟu, through a drone, sound and light show designed and produced by Ramus.
The technology is produced by Ramus, a Melbourne-based media architecture studio that developed imagery and animation not seen before. With two showcases a night, visitors can choose to dine while watching the show over three hours on native Australian produce and Indigenous bush food, or enjoy a one-hour experience later in the evening.
