Passage through the bark

Visual artist/filmmaker Timaeus received a contribution for a research project in collaboration with writer Dirk Vis. Passage through the bark is a docu-fiction about Europe's last primeval forest. The film links issues from a social-ecological perspective, with the forest functioning as a cosmopolitan ecosystem. The trees are not just a background, but rather the film's main characters. The connections are made from the invasion of the bark beetle, political tensions caused by refugee flows, and the ecology of the forest. The tracks the bark beetles leave in the spruce trees are as disastrous as they are beautiful: they form rich patterns reminiscent of art deco art. These graphic patterns the creators explore through digital techniques and film, developing an interpretation of these symbols.

Timaeus is a visual artist based in Rotterdam. Within his practice, he explores and creates speculative narratives and worlds. He investigates how modern techniques can contribute to re-imagining present and future. In doing so, he focuses on issues within ecology, with a specific focus on the more-than-human world. His works, consisting of video installations, live performances and animations, have been exhibited at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, Fiber Festival, Gogbot, during Dutch Design Week and at Het Nieuwe Instituut, among others.

Dirk publishes fiction, essays, screenplays and poetry. His works include the novella The Reality Essay (De_Gids, 2017), the (anti-)manual for artistic research Research for People Who (Think They) Would Rather Create (Onomatopee, 2021), and the novel Couples or the Art of the Bedroom (Atlas Contact, 2022). Vis' essays and poems have been translated into English and German.