In the Beginning was the End by dreamthinkspeak

The starting point for "In the Beginning was the End" (Jan. 28 - March 30, 2013) was a Leonardo Da Vinci drawing, entitled "A Cloudburst of Material Possessions": a surreal and apocalyptic vision depicting a torrential downpour of man-made objects. It is an image of man’s obsession with materialism and mass production at the expense of spiritual growth.

Leonardo was obsessed with mechanics, a science he described as "the noblest and useful above all others." For him it was the root of all man-made creations that have motion.

He was also aware that humanity might abuse science: it might be a gateway to discovery, or it might become a trigger our own self-destruction. Like the Book of Revelation, Leonardo’s drawing is a forewarning; is this end of the world or the start of a new world?

Threading its way through the maze-like underground passages that link King's College with Somerset House, "In the Beginning was the End" creates a series of journeys through calamitous, sometimes bizarre, accidents and divine revelations.

Mixing Leonardo-inspired hydraulics and modern mechanical engineering with dreamthinkspeak’s special blend of film, installation and live performance, it reveals a vision of the world either on the verge collapse - or the brink of rebirth.

dreamthinkspeak will take over previously unseen areas of Kings College and Somerset House. Led by Tristan Sharps (speaking about "The Rest Is Silence" in the video above), the dreamthinkspeak core team of makers and builders will collaborate with engineers, 3D video practitioners, electronic hackers and lab technicians from King’s College Physics department, seamlessly interweaving a range of technologies into the production.

"In the Beginning was the End" is co-commissioned by Somerset House Trust, King’s Cultural Institute and TippingPoint. Sponsored by Bloomberg. Supported by Arts Council England.

About dreamthinkspeak

Created in 1999 by artistic director Tristan Sharps, dreamthinkspeak is internationally recognized as a key practitioner of site-responsive performance. Based in Brighton, their work interweaves live performance with film and installations to create extraordinary journeys that are ambitious in scale, visually layered and popular with audiences. Previous venues include an underground abattoir in Clerkenwell, a disused paper factory in Moscow and the Old Treasury Building in Perth, Australia. Productions. In 2010 the company received the Peter Brook / Empty Space Ensemble Award.