Sudden climatic disaster brings a group of migrants to live in subterranean environments of caves as a way to escape extreme solar temperatures. In the underground, they learn to live in the dark and to pay attention to the survival skills of other species. They learn to observe the changes in soil, and a new relation to roots, both physically and symbolically, develops when they learn from roots to locate water. Impacted by deceleration and channeling the time of stones, they learn to enjoy the vibrancy of stillness. Through these experiences their relation to time, and thus to space, is redrawn anew.
In the stillness of the dark they plant histories with others that counter the histories of excess of light, of speed and of production. Eventually, a tension between old meanings and new woven communities builds up, as we come to understand that the group of migrants had not meant to be human.
This story is woven around the notion that we are set to enter into deeper crises and thus we could be anytime thrown into utterly unknown conditions, such that our sense of self and of reality would no longer be recognizable to us or would mean the wreckage of our species. Having grown up in Peru in the 80s, in the absence of basic covered needs, and in the dark of frequent blackouts, we dug on these lived memories to extrapolate the learnings that generation made then. The story hints to how a disconnection from productivity and efficacy, creates an opportunity for trans-species ancestral knowledges to come to the fore. As a chance to introduce ourselves to the rhythm of other songs beyond accumulation and progress.
In the stillness of the dark they plant histories with others that counter the histories of excess of light, of speed and of production. Eventually, a tension between old meanings and new woven communities builds up, as we come to understand that the group of migrants had not meant to be human.
This story is woven around the notion that we are set to enter into deeper crises and thus we could be anytime thrown into utterly unknown conditions, such that our sense of self and of reality would no longer be recognizable to us or would mean the wreckage of our species. Having grown up in Peru in the 80s, in the absence of basic covered needs, and in the dark of frequent blackouts, we dug on these lived memories to extrapolate the learnings that generation made then. The story hints to how a disconnection from productivity and efficacy, creates an opportunity for trans-species ancestral knowledges to come to the fore. As a chance to introduce ourselves to the rhythm of other songs beyond accumulation and progress.
A project by Imayna Caceres and Eliana Otta.
Writing and dramaturgy: Imayna Caceres.
Film and video editing: Eliana Otta.
Made for the exhibition After Progress (2023).