The work is based in “quotation”—both quotations by scientist and social thinker Wilhelm Reich, set to song by composer Zach Layton, and those by Reich and a number of contemporary feminist thinkers (including Judith Butler, Karen Barad, and Hélène Cixous) that we set in conversation with one another. We playfully examine the unsettled legacy of Reich and his surprisingly relevant dynamic with feminist thought. Orgone was the life energy based on sex and positive expression that Reich claims to have discovered, and here we grant him the honor of the next number on the periodic chart (OR119) for his discovery. Working with a group of friends and students in a largely improvisatory way, we shot in and around Reich’s home and laboratory in Rangeley, Maine.

— Peggy Ahwesh, Jacqueline Goss

Peggy Ahwesh will present a program on new shorts at Shapeshifters Cinema on Friday, November 3.