Hidden Tracks
A view of Wellington City from Kāpiti Island

CREATED BY Joel Baxendale and Oliver Devlin
FEATURING Manaaki Barrett, Anna Gilbert and Lee Barry

​​Created as part of the Wild Creations programme with support from Creative New Zealand and the Department of Conservation

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Be guided through the backstreets of Wellington in a ‘follow-film’ that combines city-stroll with bush-walk.

A visually surprising and aurally lush solo experience that blurs what was, what is, and what could be. Take half an hour to immerse yourself in nature.

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We travelled to Kāpiti Island Nature reserve for a short residency during which time we collected masses of audio and video recordings and developed the concept for this project. 

Back in Wellington audio and footage from the island was 'superimposed' on various inner city locations to create interesting juxtapositions that highlighted the ever-changing role of nature in urban environments.

We based the final route for the journey that the audience would take on the paths of the original waterways of Te Whanganui-a-Tara (the original coastline and the now buried Waimapihi Stream). The narrative was built around interviews, which we returned to Kāpiti Island to gather, along with more recordings that allowed us to make aural and visual parallels with the pathway in the city.

The final result is a 27 minute video-walk/follow-film that starts at The Opera House and takes the audience on an exploration of the various perspectives on the role of nature in urban environments, from the past and into the future.