Apologue Isle

An apologue is a moral fable, often using animals or non-human entities as the primary drivers of narrative.
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The ‘apple isle’ was a nickname given to lutruwita/Tasmania to highlight the importance of the state’s apple export industry; with the first apple trees being planted by colonist William Bligh in 1788. These trees mark the beginning of industrial agriculture and extractive industry, and their subsequent impacts on the landscape and original inhabitants of lutruwita.
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From these converging starting points, Apologue Isle aims to reframe the human perspective and create new stories that propose a world inhabited not by humans battling nature, but a complex, entwined system of objects, beings and space.
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After many conceptual iterations, the project eventually began as an invitation. Five writers were asked to create a new story, with two simple requirements: it must refer to the natural world, and at least one character must be non-human. These stories were then transformed into sets, puppets were built, music composed and narration recorded.

The project unfolded like a surrealist exquisite corpse, each person building on the work of the one before, whilst retaining creative control over their own work. This aimed to enhance a sense of trust between collaborators through the giving over of ownership and acceptance of the other’s intent.

The result is five unique stories, told through an unexpected array of characters, that reflect on what it means to live in our world at this moment in history. And alongside these stories is a burgeoning community of creative individuals, brought together through the shared ideas and ethics of the project.

- Andy Hutson