What started as an experiment while visiting De Nieuwkomers turned into a really nice research and creation period. I had brought a contact microphone on my visit to see if I could record some creaking wood sounds within trees. It rained heavily when I got there and when I placed the microphone I was greeted with the sound of a river. The sounds you hear in the video while water travels up the tree is the actual unedited sound I recorded within the bark. It was a big reminder that while these woody beings might seem static, they are very very much alive and breathing. Reading The Flowering Wand by Sophie Strand and diving into Ursula K. Le Guins’ work was also a huge inspiration. I believe that climate change could only have gotten to this point due to us seeing our surroundings as something that can be extracted and exploited. Trees, rivers, soil, animals, it all was reduced to resources, things, instead of beings.
What if we use our storytelling again to dethingify, to animate the world around us? I’m feeling much passion for this, pursuing animistic storytelling, becoming a spokesperson for the trees. To use storytelling to weave intimate connections between all that lives. Wielding a flowering wand, instead of a sword.
All these experiences blended into creating this video and a newfound mesmerization for rain. A little invitation to end on: the next time you find yourself in a rainshower, before finding shelter, see if you can catch a drip on your tongue. Can you taste which other beings it has passed through? 🧙♂🌿