Scene from Everything is Connected, with Remco de Kluizenaar on the right. Photo Bart de Gouw Remco de Kluizenaar spent a year on campus as the artist in residence. The sound artist spoke to numerous scientists and incorporated those encounters in artworks. His final show is a performance for three people.
Resource saw the performance last week in the premiere with about 30 scientists. In this show, De Kluizenaar takes his audience on a tour of the history of the Earth. That includes the origins of life and the indispensable proteins, but also the human race and its current conflict with the planet. The audience have bit parts too, when he explains how our red blood cells work. Probably not necessary, but still fun.
As we walk from location to location, De Kluizenaar makes clever use of the campus. For example, it is precisely 464 metres from the information board on Droevendaalsesteeg to Bornsesteeg, which, if each metre represents 10 million years, happens to give the age of our planet!
De Kluizenaar is a sound artist. He already produced an audio tour about the protein transition earlier this year. In Everything is Connected (the title of this current work), his sound skills lead to the climax of the performance when the complexity of the transition from animal protein to vegetable protein drives him to despair. He literally lets the audience experience the many different voices in his head.
Despair
But the despair turns into catharsis. Behind Actio is a tree that fell down in May. The storm damage symbolizes the state of the planet and biodiversity. This is where De Kluizenaar finds his release and reaches a conclusion after a year at WUR. We have to listen to the planet, put our heads together and each take responsibility. Not a surprising conclusion, but very true nonetheless. RK
Everything is Connected can be seen on 7, 9 and 10 September. Tickets (6 euros, free for WUR staff and students) can be obtained at remcodekluizenaar.nl.
