Photos by Chris Bishop 
Photos by Chris Bishop | Paussus (1982) |
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London Musicians Collective I was intrigued by insect song; its sound, what it signifies and what triggers it. I also investigated the very strong chemical reactions that often generate risky and precarious situations for them, finding in both their songs and behaviour many analogies to some of our own underlying conduct. I based several performances on these investigations. Paussus looked at the inter-relationship of a small beetle and its ant hosts. The beetles secrete a volatile substance from subcutaneous glands that is greedily licked up by the ants, appeasing them and suppressing their usual aggression toward intruders. In exchange, the beetle and larvae feed on food provided by the ants or the larvae feed on the ant brood. The ants can enter such a seemingly ecstatic state by imbibing this chemical that they can be torn apart by the beetle whilst still submitting themselves to it. This terrifying scenario underlined how action/desire/motivation is fundamentally a set of chemical reactions I spoke about these thoughts and inter-relationships whilst slowly transforming my face. |
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