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Richard Move (*This Is Not A Drill* Fellow)

Herstory of the Universe@Governors Island, 2021-2022
Video Documentation of Live Performance

Herstory of the Universe@Governors Island is the first performance commissioned by the Trust for Governors Island and showcases six site-specific choreographic works, designed to call attention to the island's successful ecological initiatives and newly flourishing ecosystems, while highlighting its unique landscapes in the midst of one of the world's most populated urban areas. The project leads visitors on an immersive journey across the iconic public space with installations that amplify the island's biodiversity with a kind of kinetic biomimicry.

The creative research draws upon specific island locations, habitant flora, fauna, and wildlife, along with architectural interventions, such as vistas designed for dramatic, panoramic views. The direction, choreography, and costuming seek not to replicate, but rather to embody these elemental forces through visceral abstraction. Several of the pieces draw their inspiration from global mythologies centering on female figures inextricably linked to the natural environment, such as Hamadrayad, the Greek mythological tree nymph, whose life was bound to the life of an individual tree; Amaterasu, the Japanese Goddess of the Sun, whose story describes the importance of the sun and the fear of its loss; and Devrai (Sacred Grove), a compound of the Indian word Dev meaning God and Rai meaning forest--a prehistoric tradition of conservation in which certain groves are revered as sacrosanct and imbued with the belief that nothing should be harmed within their boundaries.

There was no stage flooring, sound design, or additional lighting utilized in order to maintain full focus on the environmental site.

The title, Herstory of the Universe, refers to the remarkable resilience of Mother Nature and the earth's ability to recover and renew. The first iteration, "Herstory of the Universe#1 @Parrish ArtMuseum (2014)" in Southampton, New York, was inspired by the museum's architecture, building materials and natural environs, along with the exhibition At Water's Edge, Maya Lin's visualizations of Hurricane Sandy's storm surge around New York City.

Looking ahead to future iterations of Herstory of the Universe, the Governors Island Commission serves as a template for forthcoming site-specific performances that are also free to the public and focus on animating sites that call attention to successful human interventions that may assist Mother Nature in her recovery in this time of crisis.