Blue groper puppet
Date2022
Object number00056400
NameModel
MediumSilicone, glass, aluminium, foam, metal, plastic, rubber
DimensionsOverall (approximately): 1600 × 1160 × 500 mm
Copyright© Robert Connolly
ClassificationsModels
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Robert Connolly
DescriptionBlue Groper puppet from film Blueback (2022) created by Creature Technology, Ltd. The puppet is silicone skin covering the body, glass eyes, body is an aluminium skeleton with plexiglass filler, foam to simulate fat (damaged by contact with chlorine when used in pool). Suspended on a frame by a hard support located at top midbody with connection point to frame. Large single cable runs off this connection point to connect to puppet controls- watertight rubber-coated cable.SignificanceMarine conservation filmmaking in Australia has been primarily limited to factual programming, which, although very successful, may not have the reach of dramatic production in ‘changing hearts and minds’ of Australian audiences towards a sustainable future for our oceans. Acquisition of materials associated with Blueback provide an opportunity for the museum to utilise these objects in exhibition and online to showcase the power of filmmaking to connect audiences to the underwater world.
This collection includes a world’s first puppet and associated prototyping materials created for use underwater, and to showcase the technologies used to ensure that the puppet was ‘lifelike’ in a marine environment, and acquire materials associated with the production of the puppet and feature film Blueback, as a record of marine conservation-related filmmaking in Australia.
