The British Museum | Moctezuma: Aztec Ruler

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Elbow produced all the AV for the highly acclaimed Moctezuma exhibition in the Round Reading Room at the British Museum. It was a ground breaking moment for the British Museum as previously no soundscape had ever been introduced to the temporary exhibition space. Giving a subtle ambient impression of the world of the Mexica the audio provided a sound bed for both AV's. It was particularly apposite for the 14 metre, photo real animation depicting the panorama from the "City in the Lake" and projected on the cyclorama immediately behind the amazing model of Tenochtitlan. The animation presents an accelerated seasonal cycle of a year and a day. Images of four gods were subtly introduced to the vista emerging from cloud formations, reflections in the water, in the flashes of lightening and burned into the midday sun.

The second AV introduces a strong sense of scale and visual contextualisation of objects within the exhibition. It strives to poetically communicate the Mexica's powerful belief in their own supremacy, oblivious to the impending arrival of the Spanish. Both AV's seek to discreetly add a back-drop to the fantastic objects on display by providing an impression of the man-made and natural geography from whence they came.