Swamps & Ponds, 3'00 excerpt (original 18'00)
The film
Swamps & Ponds (2018) is an experimental video-essay loosely based on the speculative origins of a community of peasants known as the Toxicophagi. The Toxicophagi built up resistance to the poison arsenic, by regularly consuming it. This poison served as a symbolic starting point to explore the power of invisible substances or structures and the tolerance of an overlooked collective. By repurposing this compound, the film explores the implications substances and 'invisible' toxic forces have on an environment and those who inhabit it, and further investigates hierarchies, power, subcultures and intoxication.
Supported by The Styria Artist in Residence Scholarship (St.A.i.R.) and CBK Rotterdam.