AN INTRO IS A FOOTNOTE. UND EINE PARATAXE IST EINE IN SICH SELBST FALTENDE FALLE

This video essay blends the true with the fictional, and the hypothetical with the possible. Blending the historical context of Biosphere 2 with a variety of images, clips, concepts and performative segments, it explores some of the ideas and themes running through his work and research on Biosphere 2. Including references to scientific experiments, philosophers, composers and poetry, the narration is performed by Kroot Juurak, whose intonation and posture at times recall her performances in ’INVENTUR / INVOCATION’, and at others imitate or claim the ’voice’ of, for example, David Attenborough. The narrator appears to be speaking from a script. This script, however, is read from right to left and seems to be upside down, reflecting the visual use of reversed writing. The constant shuffling and re-arranging of the script, and the cutting from one section to another, imply that the script is neither performed in the ’correct’ order, nor viewed thus. Undermining certainties and challenging the narrative structure both of the documentary and the Biosphere project itself, the fabric of the performance breaks down, with the narrator stepping into and out of a variety of roles, and the camera cutting back and forth. Is there a connection? There is no ’authentic’ truth here, but a collection of fragments which must be deciphered and linked by the viewer.