When artists meet scientists - Island journey: Another story of avian parasites

Although the encounter between Arts and Sciences is not new, it remains rare for artists and scientists to come together to work on the same project. It takes audacity to dare such meeting and openness to embrace the diversity of languages and worldviews. In June 2022, a group of scientists and artists experienced it on a joint mission to the island of São Tomé. We walked together through the habitats of the island, from the coast towards the interior of the volcanic island. We crossed the monocultures of palm oil trees, the agroforestry plantations of coffee and cocoa, to enter the native forest of Obô, the sanctuary of endemic species. In this session we will briefly present the research work that drove this encounter, followed by the first artistic output, a 25-minute video-performance: In search of escape lines between past and present, of attempts to express a diversity of points of view - of humans from here and elsewhere, of birds, mosquitoes, rivers...-, ‘Or L'Oiseau’ invites us to trace the thread of the ‘Plantationocene’ of which the island of São Tomé was the first laboratory. ‘Or L'Oiseau’ responds to the invitation to question with sensitivity the different environments that shape the island. What are the forms of plantations that are perpetuated today? How do they affect the relationships between species? What can choreographic knowledge do to narrate these questions? The thread is pulled, gets tangled, sometimes to rest in the lianas of the forest, which receive it and take care of it. As the journey progresses, the human presence fades away, leaving the forest as the master of the place.

Credits | Creation: Joanne Clavel & Emma Tricard; Choreography and Artistic Direction: Emma Tricard; Interpretation: Martim Barros da Veiga & Emma Tricard; Photographic Director and Colour calibration: Nicolas Caracache; 2nd camera and Editing: Anaïs Fleurent; Original Music and Sound Design: Victor Tricard; Sound Engineer: Joanne Clavel; Production: BIOPOLIS under FCT funding, CNRS, Natural Movement and Vague Aventure.