Sam Bowker
Golden Shadows: The Making of “The Alchemist’s Jar”
Symposium presentation 12.30pm Thurs Dec 8
“The Alchemist’s Jar” (2022-2023) is a new shadow theatre concert with live music – original, historic, and contemporary – inspired by the storytelling traditions of Egyptian medieval shadow puppetry (khayal al-zill in Arabic, or karagoz in Turkey and Greece), as well as the orchestral Indonesian / Malaysian wayang kulit. This project follows the experimental production of “The Thief of Stars” (2021), based on the unpublished short story “The Stone Jar” (2017) by Christopher Halburd, with original illustrations created by artist Tracey Jones (2019).
These shadow puppets are designed and operated by Dr Sam Bowker, and they are used to animate specific characters within this concert. Created in collaboration with Timothy Crutchett, they are a manifestation of scholarship regarding Islamic art history and theatre practices, drawing upon fragile Egyptian shadow puppets known via museum collections and Arabic literary sources. Khayal al-zill is a relatively obscure corner of art history, and relies on a network of skills from different communities. The development of these puppets presents a site-specific bricolage of technical solutions and special visual effects through creative experimentation. They challenge and inspire elements of narrative design, and demonstrate the value of collected artworks as research sources for creative practice.
Our objective is to learn if these fragmentary remains of khayal al-zill might find a new and sustaining ‘crevice’ within the creative ecosystems of regional Australian visual arts, music, song, writing and theatre practice. Each of these may yet provide “a footing in thin soil”, or evolve into a form altogether distinct from the 13th-century puppetry recorded by Ibn Daniyal from the streets of Cairo, or collected by Paul Kahle in al-Manzala (near the city of Damietta) in the early 20th century. They are stories long forgotten, which haven’t yet been told.
Shadow Puppets for “The Alchemist’s Jar”
Invited artist, HR Gallop Gallery, Dec 6-8
Puppets on display may include the Goldsmith, the Silversmith, the Treasurer, the King, the Beautiful Wife, the Alchemist, the Elephant and/or the Fire Demon.
Dr Sam Bowker is an art historian, curator, author and artist, as well as the Sub Dean Graduate Studies for the Faculty of Arts and Education at Charles Sturt University. His khayal al-zill inspired shadow puppets are part of his research into the intersection of multimodal performance design, Islamic art and live music.
@drsambowker (Twitter)