The Het Noordbrabants Museum and November Music Festival are presenting Earth Workers Requiem/Jubilate, a new immersive installation and musical composition by composer Micha Hamel and artist Jonas Staal. On view until March 9th, 2025, in ’s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, the work pays homage to human and non-human “earth workers” across geological eras. The installation debuts as a live performance from November 9th to 17th, during which performers engage with Hamel’s six-hour electronic score, interspersed with instrumental and vocal elements.
The installation, created by Staal, includes fossil landscapes and sculptures crafted from motor oil pyramids and ammonite fossils, symbolizing ancient epochs. Woven banners illustrate resilient life forms that might survive future environmental crises, providing a stark reflection on the past and possible futures of Earth’s ecosystems. Inspired by the notion that all life contributes to sustaining a liveable planet, Earth Workers Requiem/Jubilate aims to unite “earth workers” across species and time.
By blending Hamel’s intricate music with Staal’s evocative visual elements, the project highlights both the celebration and commemoration of life’s labor across millennia. Following the live performances, the installation will remain on view at the museum until March, allowing visitors to experience the visual and auditory elements separately.
Earth Workers of the Capitalocene, 2024. Courtesy of HET NOORDBRABANTS MUSEUM and NOVEMBER MUSIC
Earth Workers of the Capitalocene, 2024. Courtesy of HET NOORDBRABANTS MUSEUM and NOVEMBER MUSIC
