nuwarii: encargo de noche ciega

A Transmedia Meditation on Botanical Memory and the Amazonian Mother

PRACTICE

Production

Post

Sound

Transmedia

PROJECT

nuwarii: encargo de noche ciega

Location

Los Angeles, CA

Year

[FW23]

Credits

Directed, produced and edited by Johans.
Coreography by Josey Cuthrell-Tuttleman and Johans.
Co-Production & Co-Photography by Josey Cuthrell-Tuttleman
Fashion Design & Styling by Mika Sharderbakova
Performance by Sam Amey
Narration by Dulce Mejía Morales

Featuring F20/FAITH by Fitnesss [johans remodel]

Event Photography © Katelyn Mendoza

Accolades

//commissioned for BLUE SUCCESSION
//a fashion show by fr_m_d

Abstract

Nuwarii: Encargo de Noche Ciega is a multidisciplinary film that through the performance of nature-inspired choreography with projected visual design, the piece reflects on the perception of time and the role technology plays in our relationship with nature as it recollects the memories of Nuwarii, a goddess representation of a plant, that is in the process of death and rebirth.

Speculative Origin

Poetry has always been an important part of my creative process. The freedom to play with words, ideas, and emotions allows me to visualize and connect with what I am trying to say with the piece. To understand how a plant would remember memories, I imagined and focused on the small but meaningful interactions they have with the natural elements around them.

Framework: Biological Abstraction

Growing up in the Amazon, nature is usually represented with female beings because of their motherhood. In my efforts to insert bits and pieces of my identity in the work I make, I took the indigenous Awajún word “Nuwa” that means “Woman” and ended it with “rii” in reference to the affix of many Latin names of plants (e.g. Bollea hirtzii, Coryanthes seegerii, Cycnoches cooperii).

Nuwa + rii
(woman) + (plant)

This helped me understand Nuwarii as a mother who recollects these memories during rebirth, bringing questions that humanize her while maintaining a sense of magnificence. The principal idea that sparked this curiosity was the juxtaposition of a plant goddess who gives life to others and is in the process of death and rebirth—remembering and questioning the bittersweetness that she’s familiar with but still conflicted by it.

Framework: Biological Abstraction

Performance: Choreographing the Machine

Inspired by Damien Jalet and Kohei Nawa’s Vessel and Planet [Wanderer], I storyboarded a sequence of movements that Josey Cuthrell-Tuttleman helped me structure to humanize and assimilate to the movements of plants. We presented this to Sam Amey who very rapidly interpreted into what you’re seeing right now.

Choreographing to F20/FAITH by Fitnesss made the process and tone easy to develop. The dark yet dynamic score helped lay out and structure Nuwarii’s process of death rebirth. However, I wanted to experiment with organic sampling and distortion to add an extra layer of complexity and cohesiveness. I used Ableton Live 11 to rework the track as well as mix and master Dulce’s narration.

Performance: Choreographing the Machine

Digital Animism

Shot with Sony’s FX3 cinema camera to capture crisp, beautiful moving images, which were then carefully colored in Adobe’s Premiere Pro, focusing on hues and details to aid in later abstracting techniques.

//Touchdesigner tutorials by PPPANIK
//Assets by Ezra Cohen/Happy Editing & Artlist

Through the experimentation with visual design and compositional abstraction, different methods and layering techniques were employed using TouchDesigner and After Effects.