Animation
The Last Warhorse
Best Australian Student Film Award 2009 - Melbourne International Animation Festival
During the First World War (WW1), the Australian Light horsemen took their horses from their homeland to a foreign country, and not unlike the soldiers themselves, were required to perform near impossible tasks. A fusion of myth, legend and history, 'The Last War Horse' highlights the vital role played by Australian Waler during the Palestine Campaigns.
Freedom in the reckless Australian landscape pales into harshness of wartime Palestine. Rounded up under the crack of the stockman's whip, the Waler is then shipped across the oceans and landed in the Middle East . Long night marches follow endless waiting around in the ever-present sands of the Sinai. Beersheva or Semech, the charge begins. Remains of Calvary warfare litter the battlefield; ghost horses become a stark reminder of the Warhorse who never returned. Companion, warrior, shield, transport, hero and ultimately animal soldier, the Australian Waler is 'The Last War Horse'.
The La Trobe animation bursary has allowed for further development of my interest in movement in art. Earlier research involved the exploration of motion in painting and drawing and how to capture that motion in a still image. To have the opportunity to investigate actual animation of my drawing and painting has been an exciting progression in my work.
