SYNOPSIS
Wooden boxes topped with glass tubes sit in an empty house that has been uninhabited for a long time. The scene evokes an isolated art museum, a resource-depleted near future, or a private house under interior construction. As the fruits on the boxes decays, the imagery is interspersed with letters exchanged with someone studying paintings of the nine stages of decay.
REVIEW
This film unfolds along two interconnected axes. The first documents the decomposition process of plants in a sterile, cloth-covered room reminiscent of a morgue. The second follows a letter from a Japanese researcher studying death, addressed to the director who seeks to witness paintings of the Nine Stages of Decay. As the film diverges from the initial quest to view the paintings in person, it transforms into a visual embodiment of the nine stages of decay themselves, meticulously observing the death of plants step by step. Much like the Buddhist paintings of the Nine Stages of Decay that connect existence, death, and meditation practice, this film—evolving into "plant version depiction of the Nine Stages of Decay"—intertwines death and decay with life and vitality. It powerfully demonstrates that the energy of decaying plants is as vigorous as that of living ones. The flourishing mold and emergence of fruit flies amidst plant decay vividly illustrate the cyclical nature of existence: how death brings forth life, and how life, in turn, invites death.
DIRECTOR'S NOTE
Kusozu refers to a series of Buddhist artworks illustrating the nine stages of corpse decomposition, intrinsically linked to the practice of contemplating impermanence. Photosynthesizing Dead in Warehouse serves as a contemporary reimagining of this concept, offering a modern interpretation that documents decay and raises questions about death. The film's narration interweaves fragments of correspondence with extensive research on the original Kusozu paintings. Through this, it prompts viewers to reflect on why humans are compelled to semiotically experience death. This essay film explores the tension between observing phenomena as they are and the narratives humans construct to make sense of them. It delves into how these two approaches interact and influence each other, examining what they constrain and what they set free.