ABOUT RANICULUS AND REMUS (1985)

 

Raniculus and Remus depict a process of life and death, the passion between two bodies governed by the moon. Raniculus represents the purity of the world by the isolation of water from the atmosphere. Live Raniculus aquatartus (hogweed) lies dormant in its bowels.

 

The hogweed is encouraged to release small amounts of pure oxygen on full moons by Remus circumnavigating Raniculus in an electrical orbit, thus illuminating him in ultraviolet light and simultaneously cutting into a pre-charged disc the timeless rhythms of An den schönen blauen Donau (The Blue Danube, 1866) by Johann Strauss the Younger on each consecutive full moon.

 

Raniculus displays the greatest of euphoria on a full moon when he is extremely sensitive to ultraviolet light and Remus is performing her finest act of passion. His whole body is open, allowing light, directed by means of mica mirrors, into his stomach. In this condition the plant, submerged in water, expels small quantities of oxygen. This air is distributed through arteries in an extraordinary display to produce a single glass of aerated water in its finest form.

 

Water and air, being fundamental to life, combine in unison and at this point the process ends. As the new moon rises, the water begins its 29-day cycle of being consumed back into the atmosphere by natural evaporation.