DOUGLAS WATKIN THE QUEEN & I

INTERPRETIVE GUIDE

Douglas Watkin in front of his work The Queen & I. Photo: Natasha Harth

ANIMATING THE PAST

Douglas Watkin is recognised for his work as a director and documentary filmmaker with his telling of the stories of Indigenous Australia. Cairns-born Watkin is from an Erubam Le family (from Erub/Darnley Island in the Eastern Torres Strait); his grandmother was displaced from the island during the Second World War.

The making of The Queen & I was a new approach for Watkin, who drew on archival resources to assist him to re-create historical scenes from 1954. He used his knowledge of film-making techniques to develop the sequence of images and sound in telling his father’s story, which he has described as more than a moving graphic novel.

The style of The Queen & I aims to reflect The Phantom comics you used to read at the back of old newspapers, using an ‘animatic’ design rather than a fully animated computer-generated piece associated with contemporary movies. Douglas Watkin

Watkin’s film uses hand-drawn images as the basis for the animation. The use of black drawing on a yellowed background contributes to the historic feel of the work. The artist worked collaboratively with animators to create the thousands of frames needed to make the ten-minute film. Animated films have traditionally been composed of twenty-four frames per second to give the illusion of movement.

The narrative for The Queen & I, 2011, is based on a family story about my father, Edward Watkin. Edward was a Cairns mechanic and by happenstance became one of the drivers in the Queen’s cavalcade during her inaugural visit to Australia in 1954. Douglas Watkin

The visit of the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth in 1954 was a significant event in Australia’s history in the decade after the Second World War. It is thought that about seventy-five per cent of Australia’s population caught a glimpse of the queen during her two-month tour, and around 40,000 people were in Cairns for the occasion depicted in Watkin’s film, some waiting overnight or travelling many kilometres from inland and along the coast.

Torres Strait Islanders played an important role in the 1954 royal visit, with a group of forty-five dancers travelling from Thursday Island to perform, as well as presenting displays of art and craft.

In The Queen & I Watkin tells a personal story about a historical event that touched his family’s life. This is a delightful and uplifting film, to which every viewer can relate, a story told with compassion, humour and respect.

DOUGLAS WATKIN born 1973, Cairns, Queensland Erubam Le people, Torres Strait Islands

RESPONDING

How is the illusion of movement and action created by Watkin in this film?

What details in the film tell the time and place of the events that took place?

What film techniques can you identify in The Queen & I? What is similar or different about viewing a film in a gallery compared with in a cinema?

What are The Phantom comics? Try to find one.

Have you ever been in a crowd that has gathered to see a famous person pass by? Describe the atmosphere of anticipation and the moment you saw them. You could ask your parents or elders about their memories of significant historical events.

Why do you think the royal visit in 1954 was so important?

Find out about contemporary graphic novels and animations created by artists.

MAKING

Does your family have a ‘famous person’ story? Perhaps someone met or came close to meeting a celebrity or royalty. (If not, perhaps you could invent one!) Create an image to tell this story. You could use a graphic novel or comic book style to show what happened. You may wish to research historical images of the time in order to add an authentic look to your work.

Find out how to make your own animation. You could start with a simple ‘flip book’ or explore how to turn your drawings into short films using digital media.

Ask a senior family member to tell you about an historic family story. You might consider recording the conversation and then writing your own version to share with your family.

Do you have any historical family photographs? Scan or make copies and experiment using these images as the basis for your own work.

GLOSSARY

animation: the rapid display of sequences of static imagery in such a way as to create the illusion of movement

frames: the individual pictures in a sequence of images used to create a film

graphic novel: a format that uses a combination of words and sequential art to convey a narrative. The style of art may use hand-drawn illustrations, digital artwork or a ‘comic book’ technique. Graphic novels can be of any genre, including fiction and non-fiction.

RELATED WORKS IN THE COLLECTION

Richard LEWER, Australia, 1970, Worse luck I am still here, 2013, Perth, HD blu-ray animation, 4.50 minutes. http://bit.ly/1PBpcr0

David MOORE, Australia, 1927–2003, Coronation Crowd, Trafalgar Square 1953, London, gelatin-silver photograph. http://bit.ly/1LwSzZI

David POTTS, Australia, 1926 –2012, Buckingham Palace, coronation time 1953, London, gelatin-silver photograph. http://bit.ly/1KRqQl5

David SIMPSON, Australia, 1931, Queen Elizabeth II and Noel Fennell at the Willomurra Quarter Horse stud 1977, Kersbrook, South Australia; printed 2008 Quorn, South Australia, inkjet print on paper. http://bit.ly/1OdBl5Y

Clifford Possum TJAPALTJARRI, Australia, c.1934 –2002, Man’s Love Story 1978, Mbunghara, Northern Territory, synthetic polymer paint on canvas. http://bit.ly/1YWvyFu

(above and left) Douglas Watkin, The Queen & I 2011, Brisbane, Queensland, single-channel digital multimedia, colour animation with sound, 10 minutes, HD 16:9; Gift of the artist through the Art Gallery of South Australia Contemporary Collectors 2014, Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, Images courtesy the artist.

DOUGLAS WATKIN THE QUEEN & I Art Gallery of South Australia North Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000 Tel 61 8 8207 7000 www.artgallery.sa.gov.au www.tarnanthi.com.au

TARNANTHI | Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art 8 October 2015 – 10 January 2016

Open daily 10am – 5pm, FREE ENTRY

Cover image: detail: Douglas Watkin, born 1973, Cairns, Queensland, Erubam Le people, Torres Strait Islands The Queen & I 2011, Brisbane, Queensland, single-channel digital multimedia, colour animation with sound 10 minutes, HD 16:9; Gift of the artist through the Art Gallery of South Australia Contemporary Collectors 2014. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, Image courtesy the artist.

RESOURCES

Cumpston, Nici 2015, TARNANTHI exhibition catalogue, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide. http://bit.ly/1iKlcrd

McLean, Bruce 2014, ‘Douglas Watkin: alternative blackfella’, Artlink, vol. 34, no. 2, June, pp. 40−43. http://bit.ly/1PaE4fO

Arts Queensland, 2012, ‘Interview with Douglas Watkin at Cairns Indigenous Art Fair 2011’ (video). http://bit.ly/1PaE4fO

National Museum Australia, ‘Royal Romance’. http://bit.ly/1RlQQHx

National Museum Australia, ‘1954 Royal Tour of Australia. http://bit.ly/1jEShFI

Australian Screen, ‘The Queen in Australia’ 1954 (online resource including historic film clips). http://bit.ly/1hK8oic

McCarthy, Megan 2010, ‘The Queen in Queensland, 1954’, Queensland Historical Atlas (includes historic film clips). http://bit.ly/1QQ50zR

Presented by TARNANTHI Principal Partner

Supported by

BHP Billiton is proud to be the Principal Partner of TARNANTHI | Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art, presented by the Art Gallery of South Australia and supported by the Government of South Australia. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.

Education Partner

Information and quotes have been derived from the accompanying TARNANTHI exhibition catalogue. Information and hyperlinks correct at time of print. Writer: Lindy Neilson Editor: Penelope Curtin Design: Sandra Elms Design Art Gallery of South Australia staff Mimi Crowe, Nici Cumpston, Tracey Dall, Elle Freak, Laura Masters, Ryan Sims and Lisa Slade, and DECD Education Manager Mark Fischer, assisted in the development of this resource.

Warning: Members of Aboriginal communities are respectfully advised that some of the people mentioned in writing or depicted in photographs within this resource have passed away. All such mentions and photographs in this resource are with permission.

Note to the reader: Unless otherwise noted, all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander words mentioned in this resource are spelled as advised by the relevant cultural authority. Approval for use of ‘Tarnanthi’ has been granted by Kaurna Warra Pintyanthi.