Chão de Urtigas (Nettle Ground) is a creation project by Isabel Carvalho in musical collaboration with Kali / João Leonardo, aimed at all ages, especially children and young people. Its objective is ecological awareness by creating a moment that inspires a "Sense of Wonder" (Rachel Carson).
Chão de Urtigas consists of a staged reading of a tripartite text dedicated to bats, moths, and butterflies – three fascinating animals that are at risk due to the excess and intensity of artificial lights in cities. These three animals are associated with three words: Silence, Emptiness and Nothingness, with the caution that these should be used carefully, as they conceal knowledge and contact with very subtle existences and expressions. Then, what reality is marked by the word Silence? And by the word Nothingness or Emptiness? Is there truly Silence, or does it only refer to the absence of the human voice? And when we fall silent, what do we hear? There are very subtle sounds that we can hear, but there are also sounds that we cannot perceive with our ears, the so-called infrasounds. The same applies to Nothingness, because beyond what our eyes capture, there is a world that escapes us, but that doesn't mean it isn't there... If we were to lift, as if they were a veil, what these words cover in our immediate surroundings, we would perceive many beings around us that communicate and express themselves in their own languages. On this planet, we cohabit with many more-than-human beings, and just because they are of different scales and use different codes, we should not ignore them. We share the same home, the Earth, but we do not own it.
Between what is audible and visible and what is neither audible nor visible, the separation is primarily due to light. The excess of lights – whether emitted from below, like streetlights, or from above, like satellites in the sky (both designed for human comfort and supposed utility, particularly in terms of safety, although it is known that more light does not necessarily bring more protection) – are hostile to life in an extended community. Moreover, in Chão de Urtigas, the experience of the Universe is also questioned, because artificial lights no longer allow us to observe the faint stellar lights or connect with the infinite, disrupting the contemplation of a world full of existential possibilities.
Chão de Urtigas follows O Teatro das Plantas (The Plant Theatre, 2023), the first collaboration between Isabel Carvalho and Kali / João Leonardo, where similar issues were already addressed, that time from the coexistence in a garden. The result of that experience sparked the desire to reach out to younger audiences who, according to Rachel Carson and because they are closer to the ground, are more capable of being "amazed" by small things and seeing the extraordinary in the "infra-ordinary." Indeed, Chão de Urtigas refers to the common condition of belonging to the ground, of gravitating over it, and within it, nettles are a symbol of the neglected, the small things that so often surprise and amaze us.
Project, Text, Voice, and Paintings ISABEL CARVALHO
Sound Composition KALI (JOÃO LEONARDO)
Sound Recording, Editing and Mixing INÊS LAMARES (Cabriolet Music Studio)
Performers DANIEL SILVESTRE, ISABEL CARVALHO, JULIANA JULIETA
Costumes and Accessories INÊS BALLESTEROS
Image Editing JULIANA JULIETA
Graphic Design MÁRCIA NOVAIS
Production and Image Capture VERA CARMO
Chão de Urtigas consists of a staged reading of a tripartite text dedicated to bats, moths, and butterflies – three fascinating animals that are at risk due to the excess and intensity of artificial lights in cities. These three animals are associated with three words: Silence, Emptiness and Nothingness, with the caution that these should be used carefully, as they conceal knowledge and contact with very subtle existences and expressions. Then, what reality is marked by the word Silence? And by the word Nothingness or Emptiness? Is there truly Silence, or does it only refer to the absence of the human voice? And when we fall silent, what do we hear? There are very subtle sounds that we can hear, but there are also sounds that we cannot perceive with our ears, the so-called infrasounds. The same applies to Nothingness, because beyond what our eyes capture, there is a world that escapes us, but that doesn't mean it isn't there... If we were to lift, as if they were a veil, what these words cover in our immediate surroundings, we would perceive many beings around us that communicate and express themselves in their own languages. On this planet, we cohabit with many more-than-human beings, and just because they are of different scales and use different codes, we should not ignore them. We share the same home, the Earth, but we do not own it.
Between what is audible and visible and what is neither audible nor visible, the separation is primarily due to light. The excess of lights – whether emitted from below, like streetlights, or from above, like satellites in the sky (both designed for human comfort and supposed utility, particularly in terms of safety, although it is known that more light does not necessarily bring more protection) – are hostile to life in an extended community. Moreover, in Chão de Urtigas, the experience of the Universe is also questioned, because artificial lights no longer allow us to observe the faint stellar lights or connect with the infinite, disrupting the contemplation of a world full of existential possibilities.
Chão de Urtigas follows O Teatro das Plantas (The Plant Theatre, 2023), the first collaboration between Isabel Carvalho and Kali / João Leonardo, where similar issues were already addressed, that time from the coexistence in a garden. The result of that experience sparked the desire to reach out to younger audiences who, according to Rachel Carson and because they are closer to the ground, are more capable of being "amazed" by small things and seeing the extraordinary in the "infra-ordinary." Indeed, Chão de Urtigas refers to the common condition of belonging to the ground, of gravitating over it, and within it, nettles are a symbol of the neglected, the small things that so often surprise and amaze us.
Project, Text, Voice, and Paintings ISABEL CARVALHO
Sound Composition KALI (JOÃO LEONARDO)
Sound Recording, Editing and Mixing INÊS LAMARES (Cabriolet Music Studio)
Performers DANIEL SILVESTRE, ISABEL CARVALHO, JULIANA JULIETA
Costumes and Accessories INÊS BALLESTEROS
Image Editing JULIANA JULIETA
Graphic Design MÁRCIA NOVAIS
Production and Image Capture VERA CARMO
2024