
Dr. Malcolm S. Johnson
Geographer, Ecologist, Eel advocate
Searching for the eel song:
An arts-science advocacy project
Freshwater eels have enchanted great minds for centuries, their mysteries as elusive as their presence. Through sound and stories over the last several years, I have been working closely with Where Water Meets to explore lutruwita/Tasmania’s eels. The project has led to the invention of the world’s first eel-skin instruments, the creation of performances telling the incredible life cycle of eels, and the development of a school show about lutruwita freshwater eels. The project has also included the use of AI imagery to visualize aspects of the eel life cycle not yet recorded and multiple presentations on the bicultural history of eels based on historical mentions of eels.
The project is supported by Arts Tasmania.
Sharing the eel story.
Check out a few of the podcasts I’ve been on talking about eels and my collaboration with Where Water Meets.
Searching for the Eel Song
Performance at TEDxHobart in 2023
Presentation about lutruwita's eels at the Lake Bolac Eel Festival
Eel-skin instrument workshop at Lake Bolac
Perfromance at TEDxHobart
Map of eel distributions
Early AI-generated eel image
Eel investigation in Interlaken
Early description of eels in Tasmania
Photo of longfin eel
Inspired AI image based on old news clipping
Infogrphic based o TEDxHobart performance
AI visual of eels migrating across land
1890s scientific drawing of eel
Inspired AI image based on old news clipping
Newspaper clipping about eel migration discovery
Magazine clipping about the transport of eels out of Tasmania
Discussing eels at Beaker Street Festival
Inspired AI image based on old news clipping