A razed forest and two people journeying towards the horizon. One foot in front of the other.

 

Inspired by Anna Tsing's anthropological study, The Mushroom at the End of the World, Landscape (1989) weaves together the history of matsutake hunters in Malheur National Park, Oregon, the early life of John Cage, Francis Fukuyama's essay The End of History and imagery from apocalypse fiction to create a compelling and haunting portrait of life in the wilderness.

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On a bare stage, two people perform choreography inspired by the movements of foragers, conjure a forest fire, and cook in silence. At the end, and alone at last, two mushrooms sing to the audience.

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Set against a score of bright trumpets and droning strings, Landscape (1989) is a meditation on endings and beginnings, asking how we might find hope amongst ecological ruins. It’s an intimate and reflective performance which provides a whispered call to attention; a space to listen more closely, more carefully, to what surrounds and outlasts us.