Half Flight by Jananne Al-Ani
We are delighted to share news of a new video installation by artist Jananne Al-Ani, Half Flight (2026), at the Powerhouse Parramatta in New South Wales, Australia.
Half Flight is an immersive film work that weaves aviation history and cartography across culture and time. Combining ancient Mesopotamian iconography with motifs from historic maps and aerial surveys of the Australian landscape, the film traces the transformation of winged deities into aircraft and benevolent angels into airborne weapons of mass destruction.
The Sunderland Collection is proud to have provided high-resolution imagery of antique cartography, for inclusion in this work by Jananne.
Newly commissioned by the Powerhouse for its grand opening, Jananne's stunning immersive work is being presented in the exhibition Task Eternal. Tracing humanity’s enduring quest to defy gravity, take flight and journey into the sky, Task Eternal explores ideas, ambitions and innovations through time and space, in one of the most ambitious aerospace exhibitions ever staged.
Twelve years in the making, Powerhouse Parramatta will open to the public on 7 November 2026.
On 8th November, Jananne will be in conversation with Powerhouse curator Anna May Kirk to discuss the work. Find out more and book tickets Dark Terrain talk with Jananne here.
All frame stills from Half Flight (2026) ©Jananne Al-Ani
Jananne Al-Ani is an artist and Reader in Photography and Moving Image at the University of the Arts, London. Central to her practice is aerial archaeology, a technique which uses shadow to expose the hidden stories in landscapes.
Her work can be found in collections including the Imperial War Museum, London; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; and Darat al Funun, Amman. She is a trustee of SPACE studios and a member of the General Assembly of Mophradat, an organisation creating opportunities for artists from the Arab world.
Powerhouse Parramatta Drone Image. ©Powerhouse Studio
Powerhouse is the largest museum group in Australia. It sits at the intersection of the arts, design, science and technology and plays a critical role in engaging communities with contemporary ideas and issues. It is custodian to more than half a million objects of national and international significance and is considered one of the finest and most diverse collections in Australia. Find out more here.
Powerhouse Parramatta resides on Dharug land (Burramattagal Country of the Darug Nation), in New South Wales, Australia.
