Passage

 

Passage

Passage, 2018, Rachel Clarke and Stephen Blumberg

Passage is a journey through our ancient past and possible future. The piece was prompted by environmental concerns, and was created after a residency in Tanzania in 2016. In central Tanzania we were introduced to the ancient rock art of Kondoa (a UNESCO world heritage site) created by the ancestors of the Sandawe people. The rock art was carefully documented by archaeologist Mary Leakey in the 1950s. Studying her tracings along with seeing some of the rock art works in the field provided a point of departure for this piece. The majority of sonic elements were derived from field recordings made in Tanzania, including recordings made on the gong rocks at the Moru Kopjes in the Serengeti. 

Passage, 2018, Rachel Clarke and Stephen Blumberg

In the twenty-first century our future is threatened by the destructive forces of willful corporate greed imperiling the life of humans, other species, and the planet. Passage contains an environmental message: although we live in an entirely different reality, we can reconnect to the consciousness of pre-agricultural ancestors, recognizing the interdependent nature of existence to model a hopeful future for our world – one in which the annihilation of the planet may be averted.

Passage, 2018, Rachel Clarke and Stephen Blumberg

Email Rachel Clarke (rclarke@csus.edu) to preview the full video work.