Numen can be interpreted as ‘spirit of place’.

It is an art-science project, inspired by the ‘Big History‘ approach to understanding our past and future.

Numen is an immersive multimedia song cycle exploring the origins, climate and landscapes of the Great Southern region and Albany in Western Australia, created by Albany-based award-winning fulldome artist Peter Morse, with an original musical score by Perth-based composer and musician Glenn Rogers, in collaboration with Steve Richter.

Utilising cutting-edge computer visualisation of climate and geophysical simulations, satellite data and ultra-high definition videography, the stunning visuals are accompanied by a specially composed musical score.

Numen visualises the ever-changing climate, atmosphere and geophysical origins of the Great Southern region over a span of ~1.6 billion years, from when the first traces of early life formed upon the seabeds of the Nuna supercontinent, the separation from East Antarctica, the Albany-Fraser Orogen and the gradual drift of the Australian continent to its current location and projected future. This vision is rendered using modern high-end computer graphics, 3D special effects and artificial intelligence, to be projected on 3 giant screens surrounding the audience in immersive, spectacular vision.

Celebrating the Menang-Noongar language, the song cycle references the six Noongar seasons, Birak, Bunuru, Djeran, Makuru, Djilba, and Kambarang, bringing ancient knowledge in counterpoint with modern science.