Shadow puppets for "An Evening with Krampus"

A portfolio of experimental shadow puppets created for a halloween cabaret held at the Curious Rabbit on 28 October 2023, drawing on the legends of Krampus, Baba Yaga's house, the rattlesnake / El Cascabel and two masks for the Day of the Dead (Dias de los Muertos), as well as other complex visual effects for shadow theatre (the wild rose with plucking red petals, a series of lost children, and a herbarium of dangerous plants).

These were designed, drawn, assembled and performed by Sam Bowker, and digitised for laser cutting by Timothy Crutchett. These seven shadow puppets accompanied two collaborative performances - the actual sold-out concert on Saturday 28 October, and an invited public preview at Eastern Riverina Arts (a 'Works in Progress' seminar at The Station) on 26 October. This original performance was also promoted on ABC Radio Riverina through two interviews, aired on 27 October (Sam Bowker and Sally Byrant) and 28 October 2023 (Melinda Bowker and Erin Brown, who also sang in this event), as well as a feature article by Region Riverina.

The development of this original puppet portfolio included the use of art historical research, comparative analysis of folk art forms from Egypt, Europe and Mexico, and creative practice research including AI-adapted prototyping, which informed teaching in the concurrent core subject VPA107: Disruptive Media and subsequent seminars for AI-informed creative practice and assessment.