ARK 1 - Towards a Future Archeology, 2021. Performance/installation, mixed media.

Synthetic Life Systems Specimen CORPUS 3000Rg9 Tap and Grasp
Materials: Robotic Hand on donation from OSSUR Iceland. Movement Programmed by Touch Bionics Scotland.
Colette Sadler & Valentin Hertweck

Synthetic Life Systems Specimen Fx10003 MANDELBULB FRACTAL
Materials: 3D printed plastic
Colette Sadler&Valentin Hertweck

Synthetic Life Systems Specimen Fx321 VOLCANIC EARTH
Materials : Found Icelandic Soil
Colette Sadler&Mikko Gaestel

Synthetic Life Systems CORPUS Lx5 Decaying Sensory apparatus

ARK 1 Colette Sadler & Mikko Gaestel
3D animated video loop ( length 17.03mins)
Colette Sadler&Mikko Gaestel

Synthetic Life Systems CORPUS Extension L.Marojevic: Human response demonstration

ARK 1 explores the precarious futures of human culture amid the life-altering interventions of artificial intelligence and ecological crisis. Expanding upon the original video and performance installation premiered at Tanz Im August International Dance Festival Berlin 2021, this exhibition proposes an archaeology of the future that questions: how will the history of humanity be archived, remembered, and technologically retrieved in the aftermath of coming catastrophes?

Set in the future, a fictitious bio-technology corporation VESSELS INC created the spaceship “ARK 1” to preserve the distant memory of human life. As Earth’s resource depletion and degraded ecosystems threatened human extinction, VESSELS INC launched ARK 1 into deep space equipped with the technology for sustaining artificial life. Onboard, an algorithm digitally reconstructed the dancer Leah Marojevic to preserve the muscle memory of human experience.

After aeons had passed, ARK 1 was finally detected by an intelligent life form that salvaged an assemblage of deteriorating data from the ancient ship. With no knowledge of life on Earth, they created a cosmic archeological record of Earth’s post-human remains.

Exhibition Credits

Presented in the context of Goethe Morph* Iceland, with the support of the Goethe-Institut and Nordic House Reykjavik.

Alongside the original performance and video Installation, this new exhibition commissioned for Goethe Morph Iceland contains visual arts works made by Sadler and in collaboration with artists Mikko Gaestel and Valentin Hertweck.

Exhibition design by Valentin Herweck.

Performance Credits

Artistic direction, video and choreography: Colette Sadler
Video design, direction and installation: Mikko Gaestel
Performance: Leah Marojevic
3D animation and design: Alexander Pannier
Text: Colette Sadler in collaboration with an Artificial Intelligence GPT-2
Dramaturgical support: Alan McKendrick
Costume design: Colette Sadler /Theo Clinkard
Sound: Samir Kennedy, Mikko Gaestel & Heiko Tubbesing
Video voice over: Alicia Matthews

Funded by: Nationale Performance Netz “Stepping Out“ Fund, funded by the federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media within the framework of the initiative “Neu Stadt Kultur” Assistance Program for Dance with additional investment from CREATIVE SCOTLAND open fund. Residencies supported by The Work Room Glasgow, Tanzhaus NRW and Fabrik Potsdam.

Colette Sadler (DE/UK)

Initially trained in Classical Ballet followed by completing a BA (Hons) at the Laban centre, London. A member of Transitions Dance Company ́95 she later worked as a dancer for choreographers including, Liz Aggiss, Jeremy James, Vicente Saez amongst others. In 2002 she initiated Stammer productions in Glasgow to support her artistic production in the fields of choreography, performance and curation. Since 2006 Sadler’s dance works have been shown Internationally in numerous contexts for dance and visual arts including at Performatik festival Kaai theatre Brussels, ImpulsTanz Vienna, South Bank Centre London, TRAMWAY, OGR Turin, Tanz Im August Berlin , Tokyo Festival, Nottingham Contemporary (alongside the British Art Show) Les Lattitudes Contemporains France, Dusseldorf Visual arts Quadriennale and South Bank Centre London amongst others. She was part of the British Council Showcase August 2019 with her works Learning from the future and RITUALIA (a commission for Scottish Dance Theatre) In 2019 she worked on FUTURELAND for director Lola Arias at Maxim Gorki Theatre Berlin. Since 2016, Sadler has been developing "Present Futures", a cycle of curatorial events exploring themes of speculative futures and post-humanism in collaboration with CCA Glasgow. Her latest work "ARK 1" was premiered as part of Tanz Im August Internationales festival Berlin 2021.