‘Under Discussion’
— Nix Thérèse
In ‘Under Discussion’, we’re given an unlikely scene: a flipped dinner table that acts similarly to a boat. The table speeding along water is so compelling in its ability to succinctly express diaspora. In some shots, parts of the table are spliced out; I shifted in my seat repeatedly to see what this fisherman was atop. Because this is an object that is usually at the center of a room, communities gather around to eat, discuss, and/or commune with each other. Yet when it’s stripped of context, we aren’t allowed to linger in the room it came from. We aren’t invited into the party, but into this singular view of the surrounding island instead. When we go “under the discussion”, we only experience forward movement into the sea.
In their ART21 interview, the creators Calzadilla and Allora explained that after Puerto Rico was demilitarized, the conversation about how the island’s future development was stuck because “the very people who had been involved in the popular resistance to the Navy’s bombing range were among those who were excluded from the conversation.” So, to take the table is to reclaim your voice, to remind others of just how barren a room can be without its nucleus.
The rev of the attached motor cuts through the shhhing sound of the waves, adding to the permeating sense of anxiety. Each pan away from the water unveils a new trauma. The beautiful shots of the seascape contrast starkly with bomb craters, tanks, a sign that says “Unexploded Bombs.” We get a sense that even though violence has already been enacted, the capacity for violence remains intact. Have the bombs been lifted from their previous site? Where could they be housed safely? How can they rebuild/enhance the landscape that’s fallen ruin? The table is constantly exposed to the elements, even as it glides through waterways. It’s always in conversation because it's never not touching its surroundings. Truly surveying is one of the first steps towards having a worthy conversation, and situating the table amidst the topic makes that possible.