"What is the heart? It is not human, and it is not imaginary."
– Rumi
Parthenogenesis is an animated, allegorical nano-opera. It tells an oblique
story of love, loss and self-reconciliation by utilizing the language
of international
symbols, traditionally reserved for explicit instruction in the world. This
pictographic language can produce multiple layers in a single iconic
moment, which short-circuits
the straightforward ways in which one usually narrates events.
Parthenogenesis’ protagonist, a lonely clone, must react to deeply adverse
personal and external circumstances, when her manufactured mate runs off into
a night stricken by disaster. How can her heartbreak generate a new perspective?
This piece was started before and finished right after 9/11. I wanted to
describe an alternative approach that quietly challenged the response we
witnessed from
9/11 forward. More than ever, I felt there was a clue in the expression of
tender fearlessness: that to lead or act necessitates softening one's heart,
letting
it break, and keeping it open.
