Amazonia [Film]

Date: 2010
Materials: High definition diptych projection with quadrophonic sound
Dimensions: Projection ratio 16:9. Duration 23'40''
Exhibition history: 2012 Fondation Groupe EDF, Paris, France; PAV Turin, Italy; 2010 Natural History Museum London, UK
Courtesy: © Lucy + Jorge Orta. Filmed by Jorge Orta and Matt Wrainright. Edited by David Bickerstaff. Poetry written by Mario Petrucci. Commissioned by the Natural History Museum London

Through imagery and sound recorded by the artists in the Amazon, the viewer is enticed into the misty rainforest by the mesmerising voice of Gaia:

My centre is everywhere  
Everything – huge and hung together

Her musings are interjected by the dry, pragmatic voice of Mankind. A poetic narrative that shapes and prompts us to reflect on the relationship between the human and natural world. As the duet guides us through the Amazon Basin from its glacial sources at 4,800 metres over the Andes mountain range, passing the grassland above the tree line, through the elfin forest and into the cloud forest, we finally descend several thousand metres deep into the Amazon jungle to be presented with a reflection on how we might shape the future.

Touch the nation any Human Tug 
At any moment Our future will move