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    Like birds and flowers, humans go to all kinds of trouble to stay in the light

    By pairing a series of beautiful images with just a few lines of poetry, Heliotropes shows how patterns repeat themselves at different levels of nature, whether we know it or not.

    Director: Michael Langan

    21 February 2014
    Numerous birds flying in formation against a light sky above power lines and poles, creating a rhythmic pattern in the air.

    videoArt

    The inadvertent art of tiny bodies – stunning, hidden patterns of animal movement

    10 minutes

    Close-up photo of butterfly wing scales in shades of orange, pink, white and black arranged in a mosaic-like pattern.

    videoBiology

    Brilliant dots of colour form exquisite patterns in this close-up of butterfly wings

    3 minutes

    Black and white photo of hillside houses with a rainbow arcing over distant mountains and a valley.

    videoNature and landscape

    Pasta-making stunningly distills the connection between nature and craft

    10 minutes

    Microscopic image showing a close-up view of a butterfly’s proboscis covered with vibrant pink and orange structures.

    videoBiology

    Butterflies become unrecognisable landscapes when viewed under electron microscopes

    4 minutes

    Black and white photograph of a cloudy sky with swirling lines resembling bird flight patterns.

    videoBiology

    Starlings swoosh like brushstrokes across the sky in this dazzling short

    3 minutes

    A manipulated photo showing multiple layers of spiralling motorways with cars, creating a tunnel-like optical illusion.

    videoFilm and visual culture

    Dive into a boundless cityscape with an immersive artwork inspired by the infinite

    6 minutes

    Abstract image with bright swirls and specks of light in pink, purple and black, resembling a cosmic or nebula scene.

    videoChemistry

    As above, so below – an artist finds the cosmos in a microscopic chemical reaction

    6 minutes

    A sepia-toned photo of a woman in a dress and apron gesturing with a man in a military uniform beside her against a worn background.

    videoFilm and visual culture

    When a decomposing, century-old film becomes a haunting meditation on memory

    8 minutes

    Left screen shows a misty river surrounded by trees, right screen shows a person looking at an escalator in a tunnel.

    videoDeath

    ‘Where is it that we are?’ A poet conjures a journey along the waters of the afterlife

    4 minutes