The Great Silence

Allora & Calzadilla are a collaborative duo of artists who have created an extensive body of work for over 20 years that encompasses sculpture, video, photography, performance, sound, and other two-dimensional pieces. Their work has explored themes related to militarism in Vieques, the dynamics between music and power, colonialism, contemporary geopolitics, cultural artifacts, and archaeological history. The Great Silence is a piece filmed between the now destroyed Arecibo Observatory, then the second largest radio telescope in the world, and the Río Abajo State Forest, located between the municipalities of Utuado and Arecibo, where there is currently a Puerto Rican parrot conservation program. The video features a monologue, written by science fiction author Ted Chiang, in which the parrot is the one who has the floor. The piece raises the dichotomy between wanting to communicate with outer space, but not understanding each other and much less trying to communicate with animals. The parrot pleads her case and leaves us with a message for humanity.