Mouthful of Dust

State Library Victoria

Web Experience

Ned Kelly's helmet surrounded by floating handwritten documents

“Simply amazing. Smart, innovative and impactful. Love this piece of work.”

Good Design Awards Jury

Mouthful of Dust is a cinematic web experience that brings diverse new perspectives on Ned Kelly, Australia’s most notorious bushranger. The project presents spatial photography of his armour and other personal items, accompanied by new writing commissions by five remarkable writers - Grace Chan, Cameron Hurst, Wesley Enoch, Sarah Krasnostein and Nam Le.

Made from hundreds of still photographs, the 3D models offer near-forensic detail and uncanny perspectives. Across a spectrum of literary genres, the writers describe what they observe in these images, and what they imagine as they navigate around them in digital space. Their stories and speculations add new layers of interpretation and suggest different ways of knowing these historic objects.

The project weaves together elements of the web, cinema, exhibition, gaming and literature into an innovative form of user experience. It employs cutting-edge web and 3D technologies including photogrammetry, LiDAR, WebGL and 3D Gaussian splatting, the latter of which was invented only months before work on the project began.

The experience is free, real-time rendered, fully responsive and built on standard web technologies. Featuring a maximum page weight of only 200 MB, the experience is far lighter than a YouTube video of equivalent duration. Although the website employs advanced 3D technologies, it successfully conforms to WCAG 2.2 Level AA accessibility guidelines.

Explore Mouthful of Dust here:
slv.vic.gov.au/mouthful-of-dust

Close-up of Ned Kelly's helmet.
Photogrammetry shoot
Metal armour with shoulder guards displayed against a black background, shown from above.
Worn, wrinkled brown leather boot that has been ripped open, standing upright against a black background.
Side view of a pale death mask sculpture of a bald man's head, floating on a black background.
Close-up of a worn, vintage wooden rifle stock with a trigger mechanism and visible black markings that read 'N.K', against a black background.
Vintage handwritten letters with cursive script scattered and floating against a black background.
3D scans
Open laptop displaying a 3D view of pieces of armour on the screen.
Tablet displaying a close-up of a death mask.
A browser window displaying a website with a sepia-toned library interior background and a black-and-white historical photo the same room filled with taxidermy animals overlayed in the centre.
Metal armour pieces and an old rifle floating against a dark background with text 'Wesley Enoch, The Armour' and a play button in the centre.
Side view of a pale, sculpted death mask against a black background with subtitle - 'Among our people, it's a sin to gaze upon the dead.'
Several handwritten pages arranged in a circular pattern on a black background.
Close-up of a death mask showing a serene face with closed eyes and pronounced facial features against a black background.
  • Creative Leads & Curators: Mike Daly and Kate Rhodes
  • Writers: Grace Chan, Wesley Enoch, Sarah Krasnostein, Nam Le, Cameron Hurst of The Paris End

  • Lead Developer: Nick Paustian
  • Project Manager: Cathy Bryceland
  • UI Designer: Mike Daly
  • Chief Digital Officer: Paula Bray

  • Sound Designer & Composer: Kane Ikin
  • Dialogue Recordist & Editor: Jon Tjhia
  • Audio Post-Production: Kane Ikin
  • Copyeditor: Linda Michael

  • Photogrammetry Capture: Spliceboys
  • Spatial Imaging Processing: The Electric Lens Co.
  • 3D Sculpt Artist: Chris Harris
  • Prototype Production: Sandpit
  • Accessibility Consultants: CFA Australia

  • Exhibitions Manager: Michelle Moo
  • Head Of Collection Access: Vanessa Ross
  • Conservation: Shelley Jamieson, Jane Hinwood, Marika Kocsis, Albertine Hamilton, Amanda Wild
  • Collection Curation & Engagement: Tim Hogan, Bridie Flynn, Susan Long, Kevin Molloy, Phizz Telford