Etienne de France, The Green Vessel. Digital video still, 2016. Courtesy of the artist.
The Green Vessel, is an ongoing project produced by Etienne de France’s which sets out to tell the story of a scientific team researching large scale water contamination in a remote river, in distant lands. The team’s discovery of a new form of bacteria reveals the dramatic consequences of era’s of industrial farming. de France mixes reality and hypothetical fiction by setting the film in the near future. While the film offers a contemplative journey, it questions our relationship to nature and the environment.
From The Green Vessel, was a work-in-progress exhibition held at the Te Whare Hēra Gallery which offered glimpses into de France’s working process during the making of The Green Vessel, in France, Colombia and Aotearoa/New Zealand in 2015 and 2016. The artist displayed a collection of objects, sculptural costumes, a suite of drawings, and images and text excerpts from the film.
