Deborah Stratman’s film looks far beyond humanity for answers to the big questions of survival, gathering the words of scientists and imaginative writers
Moving from the microscopic to the intergalactic, artist and film-maker Deborah Stratman offers a strikingly expansive vision of life on Earth, one that deliberately decentres human existence. With its collagist approach, this medium-length work turns to rocks for answers to the big question of survival and extinction. Having been around, in some cases, for billions of years, what do these mineral formations remember?
As explained by geologist Marcia Bjornerud, whose interviews and lectures form part of the voiceover, rocks do indeed hold memories. A bedrock, for instance, can carry traces of glaciers that no longer exist. These physical manifestations of past and present timelines encourage a different, non-linear way of looking at time and the world at large. This synergistic perspective is also reflected in Stratman’s dynamic, associative editing. Bjornerud’s empirical observations are punctuated by the enigmatic voice of film-maker Valérie Massadian, who reads out poetic passages from works by Clarice Lispector, J-H Rosny and others.
