“After The Incoming, The Overflow, our future lay within the tides, no turning back, no neap, no ebb, an undertow of uncertainty and doubt… Taunting us, an illusion of normality… We have run out of options, we are battling for breath… “
How does a city cope, what does it look like, after years of drought, rising sea levels, relentless storms?
The composition process making the video was very complex. Nearly every scene has been composited from multiple sources requiring more than 500 individual sequences from original footage filmed around Adelaide, the Fleurieu Peninsula, Inner Suburban Melbourne, the Western Highway, and Far North Queensland. Each scene required matching of lighting intensity, colour and direction, as well as wind direction (in clouds, water, trees, etc), atmospheric haze, perspective, scale and more. In most scenes containing water, footage of the sea has been added to the landscape or cityscape. Similarly, nearly every sky and cloud bank has been composited from mixed sources. Almost none of the building skylines is from a single location.
These scenes might be imaginary, but the reality may not be far off…
This version includes a vocal, first performed as an Official Selection at the 8th International Video Poetry Festival, Athens, Greece, December 2019.
• official selection, Carmarthen Bay Film Festival (Wales, May, 2020);
• screened at Festival of Hope: A Global Virtual Poetry Initiative : Love – Power (Versopolis Review, Europe,
April, 2020);
• screened on Channel 44 community television (through 2020);
• official selection with honorable mention, screened with live spoken word, 8th International Video Poetry Festival (Athens, December, 2019);
• screened with live spoken word, Paroxysm Press: Showcase Series, Adelaide Fringe Festival, Broadcast Bar, Adelaide (February, 2019);
• Honorable Mention in Experimental Forum Film and Video Art Festival (Los Angeles, July, 2019);
• selected for Moving Poems (USA, August, 2019).
FLOODTIDE perhaps most of you already know, surely most of you must remember... this is how it was... before The Rise this is how it used to be during the decades of drought during the dreadful years of withering grinding drift sandblasting us entombing us the desert on our doorstep sucking us dry until, of course, The Incoming The Overflow seas levels rising relentlessly just like the predictions the ocean spilling over us just like the old forewarnings yet this, this... we never imagined this such restless energy exposing, laying bare our utter vulnerability we were pummelled we were pounded would we ever be able to withstand such a torrent of dislocation? would we ever be able to cross such an undertow of uncertainty and doubt? our future lay within the tides whatever might happen next there could be no turning back no more neap no more ebb so much for our urban paradise so much for our precious gardens our private havens nothing more than cruel ghosts of our past taunting us through our nightmares haunting us through our ruin with neither runways nor lift-offs we were grounded we were stranded abandoned on islands of isolation as we struggled with the new order riding anchor all sheets to the wind keeping our bearings guarding our lifelines the contraband of desire our rations of resilience and hope our dwindling allotment of optimism and so we craved respite coveted long-lost calm a safe passage to the prosperity we'd worked so hard to achieve after all there were still profits to be made “now selling” fabulous opportunities!! “pristine views” why not treat yourself!! “luxury” step up in the world!! “a piece of nature” gain a rare acquisition!! “the home of your dreams” well, what else could we do? we built faithful replicas we erected historic reconstructions we maintained an illusion of normality and savoured Golden Memories of our Glory Days as the floodtide deepened at least the sea birds thrived flourished in new-found sanctuaries expanded their territorial claims nested, rested or simply took to the wind nevertheless some of have us adapted some of us have got on with life some of us have even found ways to forget but the rains continue to fail and The Salt, everywhere the Salt that insidious, scouring salt now, now we have run out of options we’ve run out of answers we are tired we are battling for breath we are seeking any escape any form of deliverance from here from our hell in high water