The video element in before and after nature is an ever-evolving collage in motion that presents, deconstructs, and reassembles multiple viewpoints of the natural world as we (think we) know it. In a danse macabre between the dystopian and cautious optimism, I bend geographic conventions and put our perceptions of nature to the test—at which point do we start subjectifying a landscape? Could I capture the magnitude of geological shifts while keeping tabs on hope?

With sources ranging from planetary to domestic, my digital assemblages fuse the telescopic and microscopic to create imaginary environments where sun spots, cloud formations and the ocean surface are superimposed, stretched, colour-shifted and abstracted to the extent of leaving mere trails of their essence, engaging the viewer in a continuous game of un- and re-learning the Elements.

Capturing the mood of each musical section was also paramount to me, whether it is pictorially, rhythmically, or both. I’m deeply interested in making audiences not only “see” the design, but also “feel” the video through its pacing, transitions and edited textures.

My work is suggestive and reflective, it is a personal exploration of the oscillating cycles defining both nature and human existence—evoking their instability, as well as their awesome inertia: nothing is fixed, the vortex spins, and there is beauty everywhere.

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Words and Music: David Lang
Video and Visual Design: Tal Rosner
Bang on a Can All-Stars
Los Angeles Master Chorale
Conductor: Grant Gershon

Format: 2 channels, approx 60 min
Commissioned by Bang on a Can, 2025.

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Video Technical Director: Brandon Kraemer
Video Programming: David Shepherd
Video Associates: Dale Croft, Darren Culley
With thanks to Tali Oliver