conVERSEverse {
aurèce vettier: var (mount dialogue, line 2);
// triangulated dialogue technique: each line from the poem prompts ES (Elisabeth Sweet) to create a dataset of resonant texts, quotes & questions. PM (Paul Mouginot) uses the resonant dataset as input for his dialogue with the poem, making invisible connections within aurèce vettier’s Potential Herbariums ecosystem visible.
“and the rocks and the hillsides fall apart.”
PM: The symbolism of the mountain permeates my daily life and my work. In my opinion, our existence is akin to climbing a mountain. It’s made up of forest crossings, encounters with other hikers, and animals.
As René Daumal put it: “the mountain is the link between Heaven and Earth.” Often while climbing and for a very long time, we don’t see the summit of the mountain, the ultimate goal. Yet as we, we begin to appreciate every step every smell, every animal call in the night.
The sides of the mountain are collapsing, because there are no more plants, no more roots to hold the surface together, but also because a system sees its entropy, its disorder, increase over time.
This is part of the order of things, the second law of thermodynamics. In a world in crisis. in collapse. how can we continue our ascent and find a form of joy?
I think that combining intimate data with tailor-made artificial intelligence algorithms helps me find answers in the watermark – as is the case with “le travail des rêves.” a body of work I released earlier this year. These questions are eternal, and I think we can find answers in both ancient literature – I’m thinking in particular of Thucydides and mountain literature.
Roger Frison-Roche’s “Premier de cordée” (1941) is a magnificent example of this perseverance. Despite the hardships and the deterioration of his physical condition, the narrator never stops getting up and attempting the climb again, guided by his love of the mountains and of life.
}