At the entrance of the wood, a
voice says:
Over here
Over here, please
Come
Come, please
Come forward quietly
Come forward carefully
Here
Watch out for obstacles on the
ground
Continue slowly
Please, come forward
Over here
Silently please
Be careful while you walk
Keep going, please
Slowly
Keep going, please
Keep going
Wait for everyone to arrive
DonŐt stay stuck to each other
Watch out for the others
Make room
Move if necessary
Make room, please
Wait for everyone to arrive
In silence, please
In silence
When you are all in the clearing,
the voice asks:
From where would you like to watch?
Think about it, donŐt choose right
away.
You can move around. Try different
things.
Make sure everyone can see.
Take care of each other.
In a few minutes, you will have to
stop, but not yet.
So: from where would you like to
watch?
Really ask yourself the question.
///
Perhaps you can see better from
behind a bushÉ
Did you notice this rock, below to
the right?
Does it look comfortable?
You can turn your back, if you
want.
You can move further away.
Visit the sides.
As lateral as possible.
Look for a slightly outlying place,
if you find one.
Or you can occupy the centre.
Watch from afar
From very far even
or from closer up
You can sit on the ground or stay
standing. You can stand next to a tree or find something on which to lean.
If youŐre not sure of the position
you have chosen, try another one, for the last time.
Train yourself to remain like this.
The world is not immobile, but
please try to remain still.
-
How are you doing?
Are you comfortable?
Have you chosen?
Taking up a position is important.
Occupying a space from which to
watch is important.
A space on the edges.
ItŐs from the edges that one is able to contemplate.
Now that you are still,
concentrate on the details!
Look
The light here is a bright white
spot
The sharp grey pierces the sky
The surface gleams
for an instant
it looks like the sea
then it disappears
then the branches
the leaves, up there
A cloud goes by.
There.
ItŐs already gone by.
What could possibly fall from up
there
an airplane maybe
a pelican
a ray of light
a meteorite
it could rain anything
What would it be like to let
yourself roll down the slope?
What would it be like to immerse
yourself?
Tumble down
Anyone could cross it
Climb up there
Take a photo
Then lie down
and look up
Looking at the landscape is a
secret act
The landscape is a secret place
How many landscapes have existed
here before this one?
One on top of the other
superposed, lost.
Which landscape is this one?
Where does it take place?
Does it happen on the skin, in the
mouth or in the eyes?
It happens in thoughts, sometimes
Sometimes you see it, sometimes you
feel it. Sometimes you remember it. Sometimes you invent it
What is your landscape?
Is it a seascape or a lakescape?
There are
an infinity of ways in which you can cross it
Ropes pulled taut, descending down cliffs
Bridges between shores
Moving staircases
Now that you are looking at it,
donŐt you think that anything could happen?
For example, that you could enter?
Do you feel that desire?
That desire to move through?
To draw near
to leave the edges
to go.
If you want, the moment is now.
Perhaps someone might come forward
from the audience, and the voice will ask:
Did you see how the light changed?
Where is it coming from?
What is it illuminating?
To where is it spreading?
Where is it resting?
There are theories that say that
the useless beauty of birdsong is the proof that animals also produce works of
art.
But all those birdsÉ
All those birds that donŐt fall
into that category.
Do you feel them?
Do you feel it?
That call? That new desire?
Where do you feel it?
Which scent makes you turn around?
If something catches hold of your
gaze, are you able to remain where you are?
ItŐs hard to resist, isnŐt it?
To stay here, to remain still when
everything is calling you.
Do you feel it?
Beyond the frame.
Beyond everything.
Do you feel the desire to enter the
landscapes?
All of them.
Those that are framed and those
that are borderless.
This one, and all the others.
Do you feel them?
Do you feel those birds calling
each other and answering?
They answer each other, they leave
They leave and never return
They fly
they donŐt stop
they get tired
they resist
Not all
Some get tired
stop
fall
die
of loneliness
of a broken heart
some die
Not all
some resist
fly
keep flying
They fly
they fly
they call the others
Do you hear how theyŐre calling
you?
How everything is
calling you?
Everything is bigger than this.
Until where can you cast your gaze?
Until where do you arrive?
Can you imagine what is beyond the
horizon?
Beyond the sun?
Can you see the stars during the
day?
Can you try to look up, together?
If only your gaze
now
could pierce the atmosphere
just above you
your eyes would meet those of John
John McFall is the first ever
parastronaut.
John is orbiting the Earth
John knows how all this began
It began in the same way it does
for a lot of people:
by looking at the moon
at first, it was just a tale
then it became a desire
then desire met reality:
a body with disabilities
had never landed on the moon.
ThatŐs when it became stubbornness.
The stubbornness of leaving
to be himself for once, the one who
leaves everyone behind.
To see what no-one else can see.
When he got up there
the first thing John thought
was that he was light now.
The second was that
from space
from up there
you only see spheres.
ItŐs no longer the complicated
shapes
of things seen from close up
those of details
of furrows
of protruding roots
Just spheres.
The sphere is the most reassuring
shape
it has no claws
it has no cracks
It is smooth
You see it from afar and you know
it isnŐt concealing any surprises.
You embrace it with your gaze and you feel like you have conquered it completely.
The landscape of landscapes
John went far away from the centre
he reached the furthest edge
a magnificent solitude
no complications
he is floating lightly
and yetÉ
And yet, John feels that desire.
The desire to stop contemplating.
To drop his gaze towards Earth,
towards you.
To rediscover the landscape of
sharpened details.
To feel the weight of flesh.
Of the blonde girl with half-closed
eyes.
Of the man near the tree trunk: he
is scratching his leg.
Of the hand grazing a neck
Of that young couple lying on top
of each other, who love one another
and John thinks back to the person
who told him one day that when two people
love each other a lot, they start
resembling each other.
Would you give up on the moon to
meet each other?
Would you change the direction of
your gaze to meet someone elseŐs eyes?
-
You know, donŐt you, that youŐre
about to leave?
There is always a person who stays
and becomes a pivot, and on the other hand, a person who leaves
Is ours a duel or a duo?
What is the relationship between
leaving and staying?
What distance can we put between us
before loneliness arrives?
The loneliness of the person who
stayed
And the loneliness of the person
who decided to leave
The person who is a pivot knows how
to stay
They have been learning it forever
The person who is a pivot can even
become a mountain
A rock so big you can see it from
far, very far away
Here, time goes by
Thoughts become pictures
Desire pulses.
Over there, stretches of grass
escalations
tropical forests
Soon, someone will leave, will go
back to exploring
Someone else, however, will stay.