denenge

Cue story for performance: A Being from a distant galaxy has found relics…Her thoughts are transmitted as she moves about her otherworldly home…

Super Space Riff is an ode to the visionary paths of astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison and sci-fi writer Octavia Butler. It travels into deep space/deep sea, to a world of codes (DNA and cuneiform), communication systems, and wisdom of the “mothers” of the depths, the octopus and the giant squid. An elusive super squid was found off the coast of Japan in 2006, and the scientists who found it ended up maiming and later killing it. After spending their professional lives searching for a glimpse of this great creature, they destroyed it. The oceans are littered with plastic the size of continents; we float into the wonder that is outer space and litter it with debris. Fast-forward to 2020, our planet is burning and we face the most accelerated environmental destruction in the history of the world. Super Space Riff asks: who determines what “the future” looks like…and what future are we creating? It was originally created for Takeover inaugural exhibition for the new home of the Hyde Park Art Center, curated by Alison Peters Quinn, and as a lakeside performance for video with a voiceover mock-radio broadcast about the giant squid. Super Space Riff Octopus portrait is by Matt Woods.

Super Space Riff: An Ode to Mae Jemison and Octavia Butler in VIII Stanzas (excerpt from script):

I.

Code: 229435000721

Intergalactic Transmission Translation

Date: 2006AD/50th year Mae Jemison

From: Afri-Sci-FiAnthromorph

Planet Address: /||+)||\ |. (or, A3)

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