The Umbra

(2023)

06:24 minute single-channel film.

To request access to view The Umbra, email hayleymillarbaker@gmail.com

The Umbra casts an ethereal light on the witching hour—that liminal time when the veil between the physical and spiritual realms is at its thinnest. It follows the astral journey of a young Aboriginal woman and a fledgling spirit as they navigate the ‘in-between’—a realm mirroring our world yet bound by its own laws. Here, life, death, and the afterlife converge, revealing an unbroken dialogue between the living and the spirit world, shaped by Indigenous understandings of non-linear time and interconnected existence.

Resisting conventional genre constraints, The Umbra follows the two figures through dimly lit corridors, guided by instinct and ancestral pull. It embraces Aboriginal cultural ‘magic’ practices, where time folds in on itself and temporal slippages are intrinsic truths rather than anomalies. This work invites viewers to reflect on the fluidity of consciousness, time, and the interconnectedness of existence.

As the young woman and the spirit move through the house, their steps are hesitant yet determined. Unaware of their astral abilities, they are drawn together by curiosity rather than fear, their movements synchronising as if compelled by an unseen force.

The Umbra does not seek to explain the supernatural—it embodies it. Indigenous ways of knowing and cinematic storytelling offer a haunting yet meditative experience, shifting perceptions of the spirit world and illuminating the boundless nature of existence.

Commissioned by RISING: Melbourne for Shadow Spirit, an exhibition curated by Kimberley Moulton and produced by RISING: Melbourne. Co-commissioned by Illuminate Adelaide.