Join award winning writer, illustrator, musician and composer Matt Ottley for an intimate conversation focussed on his latest ground-breaking work, The Tree of Ecstasy and Unbearable Sadness, about one boy’s journey into mental illness. It is a multimodal work, weaving together the worlds of literature, music and visual art, providing a sensory insight into the experiences of those with mental illness.
This special event includes a screening of the film, which features a 50 minute work for large orchestra and choir composed by Matt, a formal Q&A session and is followed by a conversation between Matt and the audience.
Matt Ottley is an acclaimed and multiple award-winning, multi-modal artist, working equally across the fields of literature, visual arts and music. His 2021 picture book, How to make a bird (with Meg McKinlay), was the winner of the CBCA’s Picture Book of the Year Award and joint winner of the Prime Minister’s Award for Children’s Literature. As a composer, and an Endorsed Yamaha musician, Matt has written scores for many of his picture books, which have been performed by orchestras and musicians across Australia and internationally as part of his Sound of Picture Books initiative.
His newly released picture book for adults/young-adults, The Tree of Ecstasy and Unbearable Sadness, is a ground-breaking, large-scale project weaving together the worlds of literature, music and visual art in the poignant story of one boy’s journey into mental illness and contains a 50-minute symphonic work for full orchestra and 40 voice choir.
