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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
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Microscopic images of cells showing vibrant colours in various patterns against a black background.

videoBiology

For 3 billion years, life was unicellular. Why did it start to collaborate?

4 minutes

Close-up digital illustration of a lysosome showing detailed proteins in various colours on its surface.

videoBiology

Dive deep into an egg cell to see how ageing reboots when a new life begins

2 minutes

Painting of a black bird with a red tail on a white tree branch set against a blue sky and yellow landscape.

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Scenes from Aboriginal Australian pottery chart the turn of the seasons

7 minutes

3D colour spectrum graph with X, Y, Z axes and a colourful curved surface on a black background, digital rendering.

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Illustration of a blue dragonfly, a green leaf insect and a brown butterfly wing on a light background.

videoHistory of science

Insect aesthetics – long viewed as pests, in the 16th century bugs became beautiful

8 minutes

Photo of a woman sleeping, resting her head and hand on a large dog, creating a cosy atmosphere.

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What does it mean to say goodbye to a creature that doesn’t know you’re leaving?

13 minutes

Painting of a vast landscape featuring rocky hills, a woman with a child and distant snow-capped mountains under a cloudy sky.

videoNature and landscape

After independence, Mexico was in search of identity. These paintings offered a blueprint

15 minutes

Photo of a man lying on a bed with white sheets, looking peaceful against a blue background.

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What do screens depicting serene natural scenes mean to those living in lock-up?

12 minutes

Satellite image of South Dakota with glowing yellow lines representing data or energy pathways overlaid.

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6 minutes