Catastrophic Structures: listening to the hum of distant machinery

'Catastrophic Structures: listening to the hum of distant machinery' is the first presentation of Numina Gneisspecker’s long-term audiovisual research into catastrophic structures and their immanent slow violence.

Zooming in on the harbours of Antwerp and Rotterdam, the two largest gateways into Europe’s economies, the installation draws attention to catastrophic acts that are low in instant spectacle but high in long-term effects. Petrochemical installations, (nuclear) power plants, and distribution centres pass by while the main narrator, a trucker, tries to find some apocalyptic hope in this highly automated, yet inhospitable landscape. His warm and personal voice counterbalances his distant and inert surroundings. Can we “rediscover the earth amongst its decomposition”?