What is the heart? It is not human, and it is not imaginary

Rumi

Parthenogenesis is an animated, allegorical nano-opera. It tells an oblique story of love, loss, and self-reconciliation by utilizing the language of international symbols, traditionally reserved for explicit instruction in the world. This pictographic language can produce multiple layers in a single iconic moment, which short-circuits the straightforward ways in which one usually narrates events.

Parthenogenesis’ protagonist, a lonely clone, must react to deeply adverse personal and external circumstances when her manufactured mate runs off into a night stricken by disaster. How can her heartbreak generate a new perspective?

This piece was started before and finished right after 9/11. I wanted to describe an alternative approach that quietly challenged the response we witnessed from 9/11 forward. More than ever, I felt there was a clue in the expression of tender fearlessness: that to lead or act necessitates softening one’s heart, letting it break, and keeping it open.