diøscuri, 2019
In May of 2019, I had the incredible opportunity to collaborate again with Nathanael Myers for a performance at the Biosphere 2, a world class institution for research. The project was called diøscuri:
“an exploration through movement, sound, and immersive installation, dwelling on the notion of a ‘divide of self’, coexisting halves and their oscillating relationship. Nathanael Myers and Karima Walker, in collaborative performance, create within the active lung of the Biosphere 2.”
These dualities abound at Biosphere 2, whose mission is to, “advance our understanding of the natural and man-made environment through unique experimentation…to address grand challenges that affect the quality of life and the understanding of our place in the universe.”
The legacy, mission and lung of the Biosphere 2 (the latter an engineering marvel in and of itself), proved to be a rich place to explore one’s relationship to and constructed separation from the natural world. Can these divides and dualities be overcome?
Using video from around and inside the Biosphere 2, as well as voice, tones and field recordings to generate live feedback from the physical structure of the lung, I juxtaposed these notions of the self, the natural world and one’s place within it.
For this project, I composed a piece of music for Nathanael’s choreography, as well as a shorter sound piece for an ongoing installation we ran throughout the day. Additionally, I shot and produced a video for my performance and the installation.
The project was made possible, in part, by a grant from the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona.
Diøscuri was covered by Arizona Illustrated, and you can watch coverage of it here. Top left photo by Desdeneyra Elias.