Sunday, May 9, 2010

Saturday, May 8, 2010

INSECTS & THEIR VICISSITUDES

Insects and their Vicissitudes is an experiment in philosophy and performance that re-figures Sigmund Freud's famous essay, "Instincts and their Vicissitudes" through the lens of the entomological imagination. The project investigates the relation between insects and instinct, both in the sense that insects seem to us to be all instinct, and in the sense that insects have become expressive of the unconscious biological processes of human life.

Currently the project has three parts - a collaboration with philosopher and architect Stephen Loo called "A Picture Book of Invisible Worlds" which explores the perceptual worlds of insects and other invertebrates told through the work of 1930's biologist Jakob von Uexkull - a play about the insects in the stomach of a lady in distress - and a philosophical history of performing insects, drawing on Mark Copeland and Sarah Munroe's famous creation The Insect Circus of Great Britain.

For more information about The Insect Circus go to: www.insectcircus.co.uk

FIFTY FOOT WOMAN

THE CHANTEUSE OF DISCORD melachord recital

THE SKELETON DANCES

THE FLOATING ISLANDS

The Floating Islands is a book & CD made by myself, my father Udo Sellbach and composer Mikelangelo.

The Floating Islands began with a vast series of small ink drawings, which were made by Udo during the last eight years of his life. The pictures chronicle an alternative evolution of fantastical animals, birds, insects and sea creatures that dwell in a mysterious volcanic archipelago. Both story and music were made in response to these evocative drawings.

The story begins with Udo, an old man living a solitary life at the very bottom of the world. One night a strange Beast appears and carrries him across the sea and over the horizon. When he wakes he is on a small island. To his surprise, he finds that he has grown backwards, from an old many into a young boy. The boy Udo sets out to explore and soon discovers the remarkable world of the Floating Islands.

To find out more about The Floating Islands go to: www.thewordsoundandpicturecompany.com