ANATOMIA DA EXTINÇÃO
João Pedro Fonseca
“Anything could inhabit them for a certain time, without anyone noticing. By then, we already knew that the frontier was advancing.
We used to see the frontier as a monolithic and invisible wall. We later realized that the frontier, advancing indiscernibly every tenth of a second, was colonizing everything it touched with the spark of its transformative power.”
Manuel Bogalheiro
It wasn't exactly the most complex natural habitat. From very modest beginnings—a rut made by truck tires—a puddle had transformed into a small pond thanks to the rain. Some animals had settled there: snails, small lizards, butterflies, and dragonflies. Fish eggs and a few small fish could already be seen in the water, along with tadpoles and some aquatic insects. Weeds had grown around it, preventing soil erosion. Migratory birds now arrived at this small pond. The vigilance of these animals was different from that common in those living in truly wild areas: it was a life tinged with fatigue, the result of the long and painful history of bad encounters in that human-occupied territory, of tragic events in their past. During our nocturnal visits, that piece of nature provided us with a series of miniature dramas to follow in the near future. There were thousands of dead spaces like that microhabitat, thousands of transitional environments that no one observed closely, which had become invisible because they lacked any utility. Anything could inhabit them for a certain time, without anyone noticing. By then, we already knew that the frontier was advancing.
We used to see the frontier as a monolithic and invisible wall. We later realized that the frontier, advancing indiscernibly every tenth of a second, was colonizing everything it touched with the spark of its transformative power. What trace of our presence could remain after the frontier reached us? What new observer could emerge to, after the extinction, observe the vestiges of our dramas as if it were a habitat—dead and lost in time?
digital nature; molecular faith
daslight
trilogy of performances
Part I - Anatomia da Extinção
Part II - Fragmentos de uma Anatomia
Part III - Extinção
Creation: João Pedro Fonseca
Text: Manuel Bogalheiro
Set design and lighting design: João Pedro Fonseca
Performance: André Costa, Beatriz Garrucho, Carlota Rocha Marquês, Inês Apolinário, João Pedro Fonseca and Rita Barbita
Sound design: Manuel Bogalheiro
Video recording: Rui Costa and Patrícia Carvalho