1 DROP 1000 YEARS

[PROJECT DESCRIPTION] Homeostasis is a fundamental process for the balance of life. By allowing an organism to maintain an appropriate temperature according to the conditions in which it evolves, it is both a symbol of adaptation and durability. In 2022, curator Jaehoon Bang asked Martin Messier to reflect on this phenomenon through the creation of an original performance.

The Global Conveyor Belt is a huge ocean stream called the thermohaline loop, it stirs up the waters of the five oceans and conveys heat on a global scale. Carried by the currents of this deep circulation loop, a drop of water crosses the globe in less than a thousand years and, in so doing, sculpts the world: with it travels nutrients, heat and animals, thus regulating the entire climate and ecosystems of our planet. We know for sure that this current has been slowing down abnormally for more than 200 years because of human activity, and if this deregulation keeps on going it could lead to a worldwide collapse of life through climate change. Water is the matter of life.

Seeking to highlight the finesse of our homeostatic system and the fragility of its balance, the artist proposes an artistic interpretation of these intimate and global currents that happens to be essential to the survival of our species and its environment.

Scheduled to premiere in Canada at Usine C in August 2023, the performance will then be presented in Seoul in September as part of the international Inscape Festival.

[STATEMENT] Homeostasis is a fundamental process for the balance of life. By allowing an organism to maintain an appropriate temperature according to the conditions in which it evolves, it enables durability. The *Global Conveyor Belt* (or *thermohaline loop*) is an immense ocean current that is indispensable for the repartition of heat on a worldwide scale. It carries nutrients and animals as well, thus regulating the entire climate and ecosystems of our planet.

Carried by the forces of this deep circulation loop, a drop of water crosses the globe in less than a thousand years. We know for sure that this current has been abnormally slowing down for more than 200 years because of human activity. Yet, it is an essential process for the survival of our species and its environment: *Water is the matter of life*.

Martin Messier highlights the fragility of this phenomenon by means of fifteen suspended devices that control water particles in real time. The patterns drawn by the various algorithms designed for this project are interpretations of databases considering various influential factors such as temperature or salinity of the water in the Pacific Ocean. The data collected comes from a study* of the Global Conveyor Belt’s path based on the *Hamburg LSG OGCM* (large-scale geostrophic ocean circulation model).

The *Global Conveyor Belt* acts as a true homeostatic process on a planet-wide scale. Using this data as source material, the artist calls attention to the finesse of our system and the fragility of its balance, offering a reflection in analogy with this fundamental phenomenon.

*Drijfhout, S. S., Maier-Reimer, E. & Mikolajewicz, U. (1996). Tracing the conveyor belt in the Hamburg large-scale geostrophic ocean general circulation model. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 101(C10), 22563–22575. https://doi.org/10.1029/96jc02162

Director, performance, light and music: Martin Messier
Curator: Jae Bang
Production: 14 lieux, Inscape, Mutek
Assistant to the creation and technical coordination: Lilian Guiran
External consultants: Nathanaël Lécaudé (Electronics), Joseph Battesti (Engineering)
With the help of : Marie-France Gagné, Remy Janelle, Alexandre Sasset-Blouin, Patrick Lamothe
Development Manager at 14 lieux : Abigaëlle Parisé
Residence: Recto-Verso, Quebec
Acknowledgements : Francis Vaillancourt-Martin, Ingrid Vallus, Rachel Billet and La machinerie des arts, Caroline Laurin-Beaucage, Mia Messier, Thomas Paquet
With the support of the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Canada Council for the Arts, Conseil des Arts de Montréal