Sample Blueback skin with pectoral fin
Date2022
Object number00056403
NameSample
MediumSilicone
DimensionsOverall: 330 × 495 × 40 mm, 541 g
Copyright© Robert Connolly
ClassificationsModels
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Robert Connolly
DescriptionFibreglass moulds and sample skins developed by Creature Technology, Ltd and used for prototyping the puppet used in the film Blueback (2022). Created to test which thickness of silicone skin appeared most real in water.
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.
