BEING TIME: Marking the Passage of Time with a Petrified Tree
A performance celebrating communication with a 12 million-year-old petrified tree in the desert of the Turkana Plateau, the cradle of humanity.
Turkana Plateau of the Rift Valley
The performance BEING TIME took place in the the cradle of humanity. The fossil-bearing sediment, unique to the geology of this part of the Rift preserves many paleontological treasures including the Turkana petrified forest, telling majestic stories of life on Earth.
Inspiration
The experience of being in the presence of fossilized trees millions of years older than any of our human ancestors inspired the performance.
Science informs art
The performance BEING TIME is based on the information derived from non-invasive scientific measurements of the state of the tree. Sensors measured the electrical resistivity of the wood and detected a signal demonstrating that the cellular core of the tree is still active.
Time machine
The performance concentrates on the annual rings of the tree as a metaphor for the continuity of life; the ancient tree is presented as a time coding tool and a memory keeper, a kind of “time machine.
Time contracted, and new channels of communication between man and nature for a brief second expanded.
Fragment of the performance BEING TIME
Being Time, performance 18 (2021) by Olga Kisseleva, James Mweu, and James MuriukiOriginal Source: https://eaman.org/
Preparing to listen to a petrified tree
James Mweu setting up the performance BEING TIME.
Being Time, performance 18 (2021) by Olga Kisseleva, James Mweu, and James MuriukiOriginal Source: https://eaman.org/
"Listening to the Rift Valley" - BEING TIME
Choreographer James Mweu and artist Olga Kisseleva prepare for the performance BEING TIME.
Being Time, performance 3 (2021) by Olga Kisseleva, James Mweu, and James MuriukiOriginal Source: https://eaman.org/
BEING TIME - letting the wind guide the performance
Red cloth flowing on the contours of the Rift Valley in the performance BEING TIME.
Being Time, performance 22 (2021) by Olga Kisseleva, James Mweu, and James MuriukiOriginal Source: https://eaman.org/
Performative annual ring encircling a petrified tree
Being Time, performance (2022) by Olga Kisseleva, James Mweu, and James MuriukiEastern African Museum of Art Nairobi (EAMAN)
Turkana desert framing the performance BEING TIME
Being Time, performance 6 (2021) by Olga Kisseleva, James Mweu, and James MuriukiOriginal Source: https://eaman.org/
Petrified tree - co-creator of BEING TIME performance
James Mweu and Olga Kisseleva after the performance BEING TIME. Behind them is a 12 million years old petrified tree.
BEING TIME, performance (2021)
Artists & performers: Olga Kisseleva and James Mweu
Choreographer: James Mweu
Photographers: Ian Kathurima Kinyua (SwiftLab), James Muriuki, Margaret Ngigi
Video editing: James Muriuki, Emmaus Kimani, Federico Debetto
Curator: James Muriuki
Project & Technical Coordinator: Emmaus Kimani
Project Director: Maria Amelina
Commissioned, co-created and co-produced by EAMAN
Participation of the TURKANA BASIN INSTITUTE is gratefully acknowledged.
Listening to The Rift Valley Project: https://eaman.org
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