The echo of abstraction: the aural and visual language of poetic documentaries

Abstract

The poetic documentary mode deploys techniques such as poiesis, aesthetic experimentation and affective audience registers whilst also upending the conventional expository, narrativised structures within the documentary genre. Existing literature on the Poetic Documentary mode outlines its history and defines general characteristics and audio-visual techniques. However, the mode’s potential to affect audience perceptions and experiences in relation to environmentally-themed content remains underdeveloped. This practice-led research project investigates audiences’ emotional responses to audiovisual poetic documentary stimuli. It specifically explores whether poetic documentaries enrich audiences’ sense of ecological stewardship by evoking the intangible values associated with the natural environment, such as well-being, connectedness, peace and a sense of belonging. To achieve these aims, the project identifies and analyses historical and contemporary poetic documentary literature and media texts, iterated with creative experiments and fieldwork, culminating in an exploration of the Hawkesbury-Nepean River floodplain’s degradation through the lens of a short poetic documentary titled Dyarubbin, Echo of a River. Developing this creative outcome, the candidate experimented with aesthetics and techniques of defamiliarisation, abstraction, symbolism, metaphor, metonymy, juxtaposition and montage found in poetic audio- visual treatment. It further investigates audiences’ feedback, which includes their immediate reactions, emotions, and perceptions at watching Dyarubbin, Echo of a River. This research project is expected to contribute to poetic documentaries' existing theory and practice. The creative outcome may inspire the deployment of poetic techniques to treat environmental issues that lead audiences through an emotional journey. Doing so may encourage audiences to start a conversation about what is lost through over-development and the degradation of nature, especially among the community whose lives have been adversely affected by the repeated flood events and the degradation in the Hawkesbury-Nepean River floodplain.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Western Sydney University
Supervisor	Kate Richards (Supervisor)