Pterosi: Angels Chorus

George Archer, Big Picture, Hobart City High School

In Collaboration with Dr Haiting Zhang
Australian Antarctic Program Partnership, AAPP
Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies, IMAS

Artist’s Statement

My artwork is inspired largely by Antarctic Sea Angels (Clione Antarctica), and by other various Antarctic marine creatures. I found out about these mysterious little creatures through the amazing work of my scientist, Haiting Zhang at the Australian Antarctic Division.

I have composed an original and dynamic piece of music as well as created my own written language. I wanted to bring something new and interesting to the CoLab space and I think I have achieved my goal!

With this artwork I wanted to explore the experience and connection that humans have with creatures. We often try to attach human traits to things we do not fully understand in order to try and connect with them better and I wanted to represent this “communication” quite literally through making a language to communicate in. The closer we become connected with Sea Angels the more our care for them will grow.

I hope that in experiencing Pterosi (the language of the Sea Angels) viewers will feel a deeper sense of connection and intrigue towards these incredible little beings we so often forget about. Maybe you will want to understand what they are talking about and try to decode their cryptic speech, or maybe you just want to stay for a while and bask in the unknown waters of their melodies. Whatever the viewer chooses I hope that I can create a sense of connection and curiosity to bridge the gap from our lives to that of the Sea Angels!