Spillover

A/V Performance w/ Matthew Biederman

Original Version (and recording) with SUPERNOVA Ensemble (Porto)

In light of the recent and ongoing pandemic, climate catastrophe, and possible sixth mass extinction, SPILLOVER examines humanity’s needs in relation to our environment through an investigation of border areas between society and nature. We must consider these zones as a continuum of cooperation rather than an opposing dichotomy. To do so, we have created aerial and land based three-dimensional maps through photogrammetry as a compositional tool in order to visually and sonically interpret both real and perceived environmental limits as a way of providing a metaphor for a systemic shift and a point of reflection on our relationship and societies needs with the environment.

The premier of SPILLOVER was commissioned by the INDEX Biennale of Digital Art in Braga, Portugal. We were invited to create a project encompassing the ideas of spillover as it relates to the rapidly increasing lithium extraction initiatives around the world. In the northeast of Portugal, near the rural village of Montalegre, an historic center of ranching that is UNESCO recognized for its heritage and unique lineage of cattle, an entire mountain would be destroyed to facilitate the proposed lithium mine. The site is situated only a few kilometers upstream of the Rabagao reservoir, one of northern Portugal’s main sources of drinking water. Two small villages on either side of the mountain would be able to see each other if the drastic reshaping of the landscape is approved. Just as the rural communities in Portugal are affected, lithium extraction is similarly most keenly felt by other rural and indigenous populations around the world, from the Atacama and Navajo deserts in North and South America, to the high plateaus of China, the far north of Canada, and the deep outback of Australia to name only a few.

As part of the process of the work, we first met with local activists while researching the European Union’s push for ‘clean’ energy and the impact of heavy metal extraction globally. While meeting with activists, walking the landscape with them and discussing the history of the area, we found the actual places where the mining company have been doing core samples to determine the value of the land. We extensively photographed and modeled these sites and use them in the performance. After determining the full impact and extent of the mining, we used photogrammetry via drone flights to create point clouds of the entire area and nearby post-extraction strip mines.

Images from the INDEX Biennale premier in 2022 with :

Joao Dias – Percussion

Frederic Cardoso – Bass Clarinet

Carina Albuquerque – Cella

Ana Madalena Ribeiro – Violin

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2025 Recording Session in Vila do Conde :

Photos by Abel Andrade, on instagram: @eusouoabel, https://eusouoabel.eu

with a Grant from la Maison de la Musique Contemporaine, Paris.