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Merging art, science, technology and the natural world, Friends With Computers’ Under Waters is an interactive immersive installation that invites viewers to enter—and remain within—a pocket of deep time.

Building a multi-sensory experience through projection, tracking technologies and poetic computation, the work presents a parallel universe that celebrates the metaphysical connection between oceans and stars, diving into a speculative past while travelling towards a celestial future.

Learn more about Under Waters in the latest PICA Art Talks video.

@friends.with.computers @_april.p_ @pat.younis @jordan_east

boorda yeyi is supported by The Ian Potter Foundation (Founding Patron), along with the Feilman Foundation and Lotterywest (Principal Patrons). 'Under Waters' is supported by Perth Festival and Wesfarmers Arts through their Boorloo Contemporary program. ⁠
⁠
@ianpotterfdn #feilmanfoundation @lotterywest ⁠@perthfest @wesfarmersarts⁠
⁠
Video: @edwinsitt

Under Waters 🌀🐚🐚
FRIENDS WITH COMPUTERS:
April Phillips, Jordan East, Pat Younis
19 February - 29 March @pica_perth @perthfest
12-5 PM, Tues- Sun

11:13 mins (loop)
Complex Digital Object (moving image, sound, real-time body tracking, digital sculptures, photogrammetry scans, animation, particle systems), polyester tassels, cotton / polyester rugs, aluminium and polyvinyl.

2025 boorda yeyi Immersive Arts Commission Under Waters uncovers a speculative past of 500,000,000 (five hundred million) years ago when the majority of Earth’s surface was submerged in water. Streamed as a seamless loop, this moving image work operates as a portal—an all-access pass to a seemingly impossible dreaming— presenting ‘now’ in parallel to ‘long ago’ as a step to actualise deep time.

Extending the immense spatial and temporal scale of the work, Under Waters operates as a site for real-time play and interaction. The presence of the audience’s bodies mirror in the digital world, creating cause and effect in the unfolding scene. Immersed within the continuum of an ancient saltwater wonderland, audiences become inhabitants—activating this thriving world through movement and attentiveness.

The depths of the ocean floor present deep-water canyons, coral seas and rich kelp forests; an expansive and interconnected ecosystem. The slow propulsion through the deep reveals a rip, opening to a galactic sky: stars, nebula and infinite blackness—a reminder that deep oceans
and sky are connected as one; opposing points of truth that anchor the universe.

Under Waters is the inaugural recipient of PICA’s boorda yeyi Immersive Arts Commission. boorda yeyi, meaning ‘future now’ in Whadjuk Noongar language, is a program dedicated to expanding artistic practice through the use of technology, contributing to new ways of understanding, producing and experiencing contemporary art in Australia.

Under Waters 🌀🐚🐚
FRIENDS WITH COMPUTERS:
April Phillips, Jordan East, Pat Younis
19 February - 29 March @pica_perth @perthfest
12-5 PM, Tues- Sun

11:13 mins (loop)
Complex Digital Object (moving image, sound, real-time body tracking, digital sculptures, photogrammetry scans, animation, particle systems), polyester tassels, cotton / polyester rugs, aluminium and polyvinyl.

2025 boorda yeyi Immersive Arts Commission Under Waters uncovers a speculative past of 500,000,000 (five hundred million) years ago when the majority of Earth’s surface was submerged in water. Streamed as a seamless loop, this moving image work operates as a portal—an all-access pass to a seemingly impossible dreaming— presenting ‘now’ in parallel to ‘long ago’ as a step to actualise deep time.

Extending the immense spatial and temporal scale of the work, Under Waters operates as a site for real-time play and interaction. The presence of the audience’s bodies mirror in the digital world, creating cause and effect in the unfolding scene. Immersed within the continuum of an ancient saltwater wonderland, audiences become inhabitants—activating this thriving world through movement and attentiveness.

The depths of the ocean floor present deep-water canyons, coral seas and rich kelp forests; an expansive and interconnected ecosystem. The slow propulsion through the deep reveals a rip, opening to a galactic sky: stars, nebula and infinite blackness—a reminder that deep oceans
and sky are connected as one; opposing points of truth that anchor the universe.

Under Waters is the inaugural recipient of PICA’s boorda yeyi Immersive Arts Commission. boorda yeyi, meaning ‘future now’ in Whadjuk Noongar language, is a program dedicated to expanding artistic practice through the use of technology, contributing to new ways of understanding, producing and experiencing contemporary art in Australia.

Under Waters
Cover Story for @artguideau by @rosamundbrennan
Launch Feb 2026 @pica_perth with @perthfest @artonthe_move
———

Presented as the first boorda yeyi Immersive Arts Commission, Under Waters carries audiences into a speculative past, billions of years before our own, when saltwater stretched across most of the Earth’s surface. The installation celebrates water as a key element of life, opening a portal into deep time where oceanic and celestial realms entwine.

Visitors are invited to slow down and dwell within a living, generative environment that reshapes itself in response to their presence. Through real-time body tracking, each person’s silhouette dissolves and reforms as Xenophora-like forms echoing marine molluscs that adorn their shells with gathered fragments. As audiences linger, their digital bodies accrete layers of coral, sand, rock and stellar matter, becoming part of an abundant natural world.

Under Waters
Cover Story for @artguideau by @rosamundbrennan
Launch Feb 2026 @pica_perth with @perthfest @artonthe_move
———

Presented as the first boorda yeyi Immersive Arts Commission, Under Waters carries audiences into a speculative past, billions of years before our own, when saltwater stretched across most of the Earth’s surface. The installation celebrates water as a key element of life, opening a portal into deep time where oceanic and celestial realms entwine.

Visitors are invited to slow down and dwell within a living, generative environment that reshapes itself in response to their presence. Through real-time body tracking, each person’s silhouette dissolves and reforms as Xenophora-like forms echoing marine molluscs that adorn their shells with gathered fragments. As audiences linger, their digital bodies accrete layers of coral, sand, rock and stellar matter, becoming part of an abundant natural world.

Under Waters @pica_perth
Bunuru: Season 1: Feb 2025
@_april.p_ @friends.with.computers @jordan_east @pat.younis

———

Presented as the first boorda yeyi Immersive Arts Commission, Under Waters carries audiences into a speculative past, millions of years before our own, when saltwater stretched across most of the Earth’s surface. The installation celebrates water as a key element of life, opening a portal into deep time where oceanic and celestial realms entwine.

@friends.with.computers —
Proud to be an offical artist @mode.festival 2025 💚

LOOK ▷ SEE (Look to See) | Single Channel | 14:12 min | 16:9 | viewed on a seamless loop | Ed 10 + 2 AP

In a world that feels both familiar and new, we set off on a seemingly improbable magical journey, from the depths of a pristine river bed to the celestial infinite skies, to traverse speculative futures from multiple perspectives. Where is this dreamy, fluid and peaceful world: A parallel existence? A dreamscape? A pocket of deep time?

Credits:
Lead Artist / Director: April Phillips (Wiradjuri-Scottish) @_april.p_
Virtual Art / Animation Director: Pat Younis (Lebanese–Australian) @pat.younis
Technical Director, Visual Effects and edit: Jordan East @jordan_east
Story Artists: April Phillips, Pat Younis
Sound Composers: Mark Leahy, Leon Rodgers (Worimi) @fullytotallyabsolutely @leon_j_rodgers
Sound Design and Mix: Phil Thredfall
Sessional Musicians: Maggie Abraham and Timba Smits @maggie_percussion @timbasmits
Photogrammetry 3D object scans from real world objects: April Phillips

Visual Artists of @mode.festival

💚💚💚💚

@friends.with.computers —
Proud to be an offical artist @mode.festival 💚
Saturday 11.10.2025

LOOK ▷ SEE (Look to See) | Single Channel | 14:12 min | 16:9 | viewed on a seamless loop | Ed 10 + 2 AP

In a world that feels both familiar and new, we set off on a seemingly improbable magical journey, from the depths of a pristine river bed to the celestial infinite skies, to traverse speculative futures from multiple perspectives. Where is this dreamy, fluid and peaceful world: A parallel existence? A dreamscape? A pocket of deep time?

Credits:
Lead Artist / Director: April Phillips (Wiradjuri-Scottish) @_april.p_
Virtual Art / Animation Director: Pat Younis (Lebanese–Australian) @pat.younis
Technical Director, Visual Effects and edit: Jordan East @jordan_east
Story Artists: April Phillips, Pat Younis
Sound Composers: Mark Leahy, Leon Rodgers (Worimi) @fullytotallyabsolutely @leon_j_rodgers
Sound Design and Mix: Phil Thredfall
Sessional Musicians: Maggie Abraham and Timba Smits @maggie_percussion @timbasmits
Photogrammetry 3D object scans from real world objects: April Phillips

If you're going to @mode.festival this weekend, take a few mins out of the madness to check out our vid work! new phone who 'dis @friends.with.computers

LOOK ▷ SEE (Look to See) | Single Channel | 14:12 min | 16:9 | viewed on a seamless loop | Ed 10 + 2 AP

In a world that feels both familiar and new, we set off on a seemingly improbable magical journey, from the depths of a pristine river bed to the celestial infinite skies, to traverse speculative futures from multiple perspectives. Where is this dreamy, fluid and peaceful world: A parallel existence? A dreamscape? A pocket of deep time?

Credits:
Lead Artist / Director: April Phillips (Wiradjuri-Scottish) @_april.p_
Virtual Art / Animation Director: Pat Younis (Lebanese–Australian) @pat.younis
Technical Director, Visual Effects and edit: Jordan East @jordan_east
Story Artists: April Phillips, Pat Younis
Sound Composers: Mark Leahy, Leon Rodgers (Worimi) @fullytotallyabsolutely @leon_j_rodgers
Sound Design and Mix: Phil Thredfall
Sessional Musicians: Maggie Abraham and Timba Smits @maggie_percussion @timbasmits
Photogrammetry 3D object scans from real world objects: April Phillips

If you're going to @mode.festival this weekend, take a few mins out of the madness to check out our vid work! new phone who 'dis @friends.with.computers

LOOK ▷ SEE (Look to See) | Single Channel | 14:12 min | 16:9 | viewed on a seamless loop | Ed 10 + 2 AP

In a world that feels both familiar and new, we set off on a seemingly improbable magical journey, from the depths of a pristine river bed to the celestial infinite skies, to traverse speculative futures from multiple perspectives. Where is this dreamy, fluid and peaceful world: A parallel existence? A dreamscape? A pocket of deep time?

Credits:
Lead Artist / Director: April Phillips (Wiradjuri-Scottish) @_april.p_
Virtual Art / Animation Director: Pat Younis (Lebanese–Australian) @pat.younis
Technical Director, Visual Effects and edit: Jordan East @jordan_east
Story Artists: April Phillips, Pat Younis
Sound Composers: Mark Leahy, Leon Rodgers (Worimi) @fullytotallyabsolutely @leon_j_rodgers
Sound Design and Mix: Phil Thredfall
Sessional Musicians: Maggie Abraham and Timba Smits @maggie_percussion @timbasmits
Photogrammetry 3D object scans from real world objects: April Phillips

@friends.with.computers —
Proud to be an offical artist @mode.festival 💚

LOOK ▷ SEE (Look to See) | Single Channel | 14:12 min | 16:9 | viewed on a seamless loop | Ed 10 + 2 AP

In a world that feels both familiar and new, we set off on a seemingly improbable magical journey, from the depths of a pristine river bed to the celestial infinite skies, to traverse speculative futures from multiple perspectives. Where is this dreamy, fluid and peaceful world: A parallel existence? A dreamscape? A pocket of deep time?

Credits:
Lead Artist / Director: April Phillips (Wiradjuri-Scottish) @_april.p_
Virtual Art / Animation Director: Pat Younis (Lebanese–Australian) @pat.younis
Technical Director, Visual Effects and edit: Jordan East @jordan_east
Story Artists: April Phillips, Pat Younis
Sound Composers: Mark Leahy, Leon Rodgers (Worimi) @fullytotallyabsolutely @leon_j_rodgers
Sound Design and Mix: Phil Thredfall
Sessional Musicians: Maggie Abraham and Timba Smits @maggie_percussion @timbasmits
Photogrammetry 3D object scans from real world objects: April Phillips

Commission Announcement : Under Waters 🌀

Proud to be the recipients of @pica_perth inaugural boorda yeyi Immersive Arts Commission 💫
@ianpotterfdn @lotterywest @artonthe_move

@friends.with.computers artists:
@_april.p_ @pat.younis@jordan_east
+ + + superstar collaborators to be announced soon

📸 @the_interloper_ // @garrytrinhphotography

Under Waters is set to be a detailed and ambitious new interactive digital immersive, inviting audiences to enter - and stay in a pocket of deep time.

We will present a parallel universe, one that celebrates the metaphysical connection between our oceans and stars; diving into a speculative past and travelling towards a celestial future.

‘Under Waters prioritises people at every turn. We are committed to collaboration with local talent, to create a work that looks and sounds dreamy, while affording audiences an experience which is restorative and energising.’

Commission Announcement : Under Waters 🌀

Proud to be the recipients of @pica_perth inaugural boorda yeyi Immersive Arts Commission 💫
@ianpotterfdn @lotterywest @artonthe_move

@friends.with.computers artists:
@_april.p_ @pat.younis@jordan_east
+ + + superstar collaborators to be announced soon

📸 @the_interloper_ // @garrytrinhphotography

Under Waters is set to be a detailed and ambitious new interactive digital immersive, inviting audiences to enter - and stay in a pocket of deep time.

We will present a parallel universe, one that celebrates the metaphysical connection between our oceans and stars; diving into a speculative past and travelling towards a celestial future.

‘Under Waters prioritises people at every turn. We are committed to collaboration with local talent, to create a work that looks and sounds dreamy, while affording audiences an experience which is restorative and energising.’

Commission Announcement : Under Waters 🌀

Proud to be the recipients of @pica_perth inaugural boorda yeyi Immersive Arts Commission 💫
@ianpotterfdn @lotterywest @artonthe_move

@friends.with.computers artists:
@_april.p_ @pat.younis@jordan_east
+ + + superstar collaborators to be announced soon

📸 @the_interloper_ // @garrytrinhphotography

Under Waters is set to be a detailed and ambitious new interactive digital immersive, inviting audiences to enter - and stay in a pocket of deep time.

We will present a parallel universe, one that celebrates the metaphysical connection between our oceans and stars; diving into a speculative past and travelling towards a celestial future.

‘Under Waters prioritises people at every turn. We are committed to collaboration with local talent, to create a work that looks and sounds dreamy, while affording audiences an experience which is restorative and energising.’