Creating The Cyclorama

Fletcher’s Mutiny Cyclorama is the brainchild of Norfolk Islander Marie Bailey, a 6th generation descendant of Fletcher Christian. After visiting a cyclorama in Quebec, Marie was inspired to have one created on Norfolk Island to depict the story of her ancestor’s famous mutiny and tell the story of the Pitcairn and Norfolk communities which were created as a result of his actions.

Marie asked Norfolk Island artists Tracey Yager and Sue Draper to design and paint the Cyclorama. They planned the overall concept and building, researched for the painting and story, before commencing the artwork.

The Cyclorama was painted totally on site, with mobile scaffolding used to reach all areas of the curved plaster wall. Scenes were sketched onto the wall with the perspective designed to suit the central viewing position. The painting was then built up in stages using acrylic paint and both artists worked on all of the scenes to achieve a unified style.

Tracey and Sue carved and painted polystyrene ‘rocks’ and used them along with real sand as foreground props to accentuate the 3-D illusion. The artists spent a total of 16 months painting the artwork.

A third artist, Glenn Douran spent a month painting portraits in the Cyclorama, working from old photographs of the Pitcairn people.

To enhance the Cyclorama experience, a soundtrack of music and sound effects was composed by Rick Robertson and includes traditional Norfolk Hymns and the Norfolk language.