Have the stairs of the Center Pompidou suddenly transformed into a forrest? For the next two weeks, this iconic area of the Parisian building designed by Renzo Piano, a long glass tube housing the escalator which connects its six floors, will come alive with an amazing sound installation.

“After plagues and pandemics there will be new modes of existence.” björk said. She doesn’t believe in humanity’s end. Rejecting the pessimistic vision of a post-apocalyptic future, she urges us to embrace an era of “post-optimism”—a resilient future where plants and humans would come together and continue to live.

Chirping birds, screeching crickets and croaking frogs are superimposed while a female voice resonates: “It is an emergency / The apocalypse has already happened / and how we will act now is essential”. Some visitors might recognise the voice of Icelandic artist björk, who says these words here with a solemn tone. After the first worrying sentences, warning in particular of the mass extinction of species, her speech quickly turns into a tribute to biodiversity, exploring in particular the mutation of animals, humans and nature according to the upheavals of our planet, all of this as visitors head towards the top level of the Parisian building.

Nature Manifesto, a unique sound piece created with Aleph Molinari, curator and co-editor-in-chief of Purple magazine, for the Center Pompidou activates the space and raise awareness on the climate emergency. While the “Biodiversity Forum: which culture for which future?” is being held there this weekend, with panel discussions, conversations and screenings exploring the threats on living entities, the artists responded with this impactful piece.

Beyond Nature Manifesto, Aleph has selected two other major projects as highlights of the forum’s programme. Firstly, the screening of a new film by Anohni, centered on the figure of the Pakistani politician Benazir Bhutto, the first woman to be democratically elected at the head of a Muslim country before being assassinated in 2007.

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