Commissioned by performance artist Ana Sousa, this video essay explores the ontological boundaries between the human form and the environment through a living garment made of chia sprouts. By documenting the biological growth of the attire upon the performer's skin, the work argues for a "hybrid body" that challenges the traditional anthropocentric separation from nature, positioning the body as a porous, evolving landscape. The visual narrative uses the textures of the living seedlings and the performer’s interactions with the terrain—such as climbing trees and camouflaging into the vegetation—to provide sensorial evidence of the interconnectedness between organic matter and human identity.
The piece further investigates the concept of "inhabiting the ephemeral," where the transitory life cycle of the chia serves as a memento mori for the physical self. Beyond the visual composition, the sound design and editing, developed by me, are fundamental to the essay’s dialectic structure. The rhythmic montage and the immersive sonic atmosphere work in symbiosis to move the piece beyond mere documentation, employing the cinematic medium to propose a poetic synthesis where the act of dressing becomes a profound gesture of ecological re-integration, culminating in the conceptual framework of "Hybrid Body".
TECHNICAL SHEET
Project: Hybrid Body
Collaborator/Artist: Ana Sousa
Role: Director, Editor, and Sound Designer
Year: 2024
Medium: Video Essay / Bio-Art Performance Documentation
Themes: Anthropocentrism, ephemeral life cycles, bio-textiles, and the hybrid body.
Technical Specifications:
Sound Design: An immersive, organic soundscape designed to emphasize the "breathing" and tactile nature of the living garment.
Editing: A rhythmic and dialectic montage that balances the stillness of growth with the movement of the performer through the landscape.
Conceptual Framework: The body as a porous landscape; the garment as a biological extension of the self.