From January to July 2022, I took part in the trans-Atlantic residency Reframing the Past >>> Emerging Futures through Elysium Gallery in Wales. Three Canadian artists and three Welsh artists were paired and asked to create a collaborative work together, long-distance. I was paired with the fantastic Penny Hallas and we made “The Future of the Universe / Mae Dyfodol y Bydysawd”.
After talking about the paths laid out for us, whether on the land or in our stars, we decided to follow will o’ the wisps. Through a process of call and response we have exchanged video, performance, sound, and texts which have taken us both off the beaten track and into unfamiliar terrain. Guided by instinct, embracing risk and open to accident we found ourselves playing in the margins between freedom and restraint, gravity and absurdity. “The Future of the Universe / Mae Dyfodol y Bydysawd” is a karaoke-inspired video that subverts ideas of pre-determined futures on a personal, global, and galactic level.
The video was screened online as part of the 2022 Improvisation Festival. A lyric sheet in both English and Welsh is available here.
MEGAN ARNOLD 