ROOTS

ROOTS is a short experimental film that explores Amazonian cosmologies, person-plant relations and ecopsychology via the Tikuna creation myth. The myth describes the Ceiba pentandra tree being felled by twins Yoi and Ipi to bring light and life to the world. They later create the first humans from the huito fruit (Genipa Americana)

Recordings of the Ceiba in the Amazon rainforest were taken using a device that measures biodata - electromagnetic fluctuations between the leaves of plants - and converts them into MIDI (Music Instrument Digital Interface) code. Sound designer Imka then analysed the recording as being in the tone of A minor. Using this scale, he added a compilation of real and virtual instruments to create the soundscape for the track, along with handmade automation for pressure, pitch slide, attack, release, sustain, along with other devices to control the notes being printed in real time.

This was then integrated with the audio recordings of Abel Santos, narrating the Tikuna myth of the Genipa Americana. Abel’s wish is for this track to preserve the knowledge of the elders and to encourage younger Tikuna to learn their ancestral language. The result is a new musical language that transcends species boundaries and honours shared person-plant origins. The animation is a 3D render created by Imka using plant-based extensions to convey a representation of the shared life force - known in Tikuna as du-ügü - of people and plants: huito fruit and human heart.