Diving into the world of Barwon Water with ‘Wade the Tardigrade’

A THREE-metre puppet, ‘Wade the Tardigrade’, will be roaming the city this October for ROAM Geelong.

The giant tardigrade, created by Geelong puppeteer Georgie Rose for Barwon Water, will be unveiled during the one-day arts event, to be held on October 11 in Geelong’s cultural precinct.

One of the most resilient creatures on earth, the tardigrade – also affectionately known as the ‘water bear’ – is a critical component in the treatment of wastewater, helping produce clean, recycled water.

Elisa Hunter, Barwon Water’s general manager of customers, community and strategy, said ‘Wade the Tardigrade’ has been created as a way for Barwon Water to connect with the community in an entertaining manner.

“We love creatively engaging with our communities and bringing elements of our water systems to life in fun and entertaining ways,” she said.

“Georgie has taken a creature that is measured in millimetres and created a fantastic representation that celebrates the weird and wonderful world of our sewers.”

Ms Rose, who has been making puppets for over 10 years said ‘Wade the Tardigrade’ is “possibly the strangest” puppet she has ever made.

“The puppets that I usually make are quite small-scale; normally you’re shrinking down into miniature worlds,” she explained.

“This has been a different experience – taking something microscopic and making it massive. It has really pushed me outside of my comfort zone.”

Fittingly, Ms Wade said a lot of the parts for Wade were sourced in the plumbing section of hardware stores.

“There is irrigation, pipes, plumbing fixtures and even pool noodles,” she said.

Next weekend, Geelong’s cultural heart – from Johnstone Park to Little Malop Street – will be transformed into a day and night experience of theatre, art, light and sound.

As part of ROAM Geelong, Barwon Water’s popular Museum of Modern (f)Art will open its doors. A series of workshops will also give visitors a chance to discover and immerse themselves in the imaginative world of ‘Wade the Tardigrade’.

“The Museum of Modern (f)Art has become a great education and activity space that provides another option for Geelong’s arts and cultural precinct visitors to explore,” Ms Hunter said.

After the workshops, visitors can join Wade in one of the three parades throughout the day in Johnstone Park.

To round out the day, animations will be projected onto the back of the state government’s ‘Upside Down Building’.

BY NYAH BARNES