Over the past few months, Canberra artist Tom Buckland has set out on an odyssey of his own to recreate faithfully and lovingly one of his favourite movies of all time, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Having condensed the two-and-a-half-hour epic down to an impressive 35 minutes, the two screenings at Belconnen Arts Centre (BAC) on Saturday 12 February will include a live soundtrack performed by local musician Marlēné Claudine Radice, along with live performance elements and a host of sculptures throughout the theatre.

“I’d love to do two-and-a-half hours, but I think I’d need another five years to do that,” he told Canberra Daily.

The screenings complement his physical exhibition, Space Oddity, where one of the BAC exhibition spaces is home to a collection of costumes, props, gorilla masks, miniature spaceships and a working desk where Buckland has added to the exhibition over the past 10 weeks.

Retro CRT televisions echo an intergalactic-inspired soundscape of reverberated cries, beeps, and buzzes, while one wall is covered in a full storyboard of the movie drawn by Buckland in crayon.

The fascinating, niche project began as both an homage to one of the artist’s all time favourite movies, and to re-explore the love of science-fiction that was fostered during his childhood.

“2001: A Space Odyssey was a big thing for me, it left a huge impression,” he said.

“Now, a couple of decades later, I’m interested in re-exploring that and remaking the entire movie from scratch as a reflection of the things I did as a kid, but upscaling it a bit more.”

Having made a short five-minute cut of 2001 in 2018 for its 50th anniversary, he’s used a residency at BAC to revisit it with new processes, equipment, and skills.

Buckland ‘enjoys the challenge’ of making something out of nothing

Utilising some simple, old-fashioned camera effects, Buckland has frugally used “all sorts of junk” to build costumes, scale model spaceships and sets in miniature to remake one of the most influential science fiction movies of all time “on the budget of a cheese sandwich”.

Mainly filming solo, Buckland films himself in front of a green screen to put himself inside the miniature sets.

“I enjoy that challenge,” he said. “Being able to make things happen out of nothing, making do, that kind of MacGyver attitude … I enjoy that and just working things out with the bare basics.”

Having been fascinated by the movie for well over 20 years, Buckland said 2001: A Space Odyssey has many elements that still hold up to this day.

“I think it’s quite an amazing movie because the time it was made, 1968, we hadn’t even been to the moon yet,” he said.

Director Stanley Kubrick consulted scientists to ensure the depiction of space travel was as realistic as possible, while incredible special effects were produced without even one computer.

“Stanley Kubrick was such a perfectionist, and 2001 was researched so much,” Buckland said. “It’s pre-CGI and an incredible example of a movie that uses practical effects and camera tricks.”

2001: A Space Oddity: Live in Concert from Tom Buckland will be performed at Belconnen Arts Centre, Saturday 12 February 4.30pm and 6pm; click here for tickets.

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