‘The Archaic Festival which can be seen as the most glorious affirmation of life through destructive consumption will also sow the seeds of another more ominous order – war’ Georges Batailles – The Theory of Religion
Where the harvest can been seen as a display of mans earthly sociability with full
awareness of mortality, the archaic festival that comes after can been seen as the release from this awareness, it is that which brings us towards loss of self, to immanence, to animality and divinity. The other side of this same energy can be seen as what brings us to destruction and war.
A primary temple forest made from rolls of fabric both as metaphor to social structure and to nature, is harvested and cut up with a chainsaw whilst the monotone of an 808 kick pulses in the background leaving a circle of stump seating and a ravaged surrounding. The result, ‘The Council for the Progenesis of the Archaic Festival’ is a place to discuss this fundamental paradox of human nature of consciousness, ecstasy, animality, divinity, destruction and violence.
