Camille Mutel unfolds her new creation, Terramation, around the unique and fragile character of a singular territory: the Seille Valley (57). Far from the coast, this area is home to ponds, springs, and salt meadows boasting a wealth of flora and fauna - some of which face the threat of extinction. 

 

Observing the gradual disappearance of certain plant and animal species, the artist witnesses the inevitable transformation of the landscape. She visits the cemeteries of neighboring villages to reflect on our capacity to fairly consider the disappearance of each element that makes up our ecosystem—mineral, plant, animal, and human. 

 

Together with culinary designer Céline Pelcé, she gives space to these invisible dead - blackgrass, bryophytes, or even "an unidentified man." They envision a culinary ceremony, inspired by funeral banquets, that aims to resist indifference. The soils in which the bodies rest are distilled and offered for tasting. The embalming procedures, performed alongside a female thanatopractor, mingle with the fermentation of black apples.

 

Bordering on ritual, the sensory experience takes shape in the mouths and memories of the guests gathered in this place. 

 

The piece draws on a collection of interviews conducted throughout an extensive series of residencies. Between poetry and documentary, the performance reminds us that “the dead are formidable generators of vitality”*

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*Vinciane Despret​