The Children of Uranium by Saskia Boddeke and Peter Greenaway, music by Andrea Liberovici, was the inaugural event of the the Center for the Arts contemporary in 2005. 2005 is the World Year of Physics, the European Year of Scientists, the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s first declaration of the principle of relativity, the 50iest anniversary of Einstein’s death, and 60 years after the Hiroshima bomb. Enough to inspire Peter Greenaway and Saskia Boddeke to create a multimedia spectacle which deals with the discovery, development, the fears and tyranny of nuclear power – the nuclear deterrent associated with uranium.

The Children of Uranium totally transformed The Palazzo Roccela into a an narrative multimedia exhibition with images, music, sound and live actors.

The halls of Villa Croce became an installation based on the 92 elements of the periodic table, a scenography with original music by Andrea Liberovici and visuals by Peter Greenaway for a series of performances dedicated to the children of uranium: Isaac Newton, which could be defined the founder of modern science; Joseph Smith, founder of the religious group of the Mormons, who was looking for gold and instead found the most precious American treasure, the uranium; Madame Curie, victim of the powers of radiation.

Then there is Einstein, the prophetic genius of the relativity; Oppenheimer, constructor of the atomic bomb with remorse, punished by his conscience and the compassion of an anti-communistic system and a xenophobic public opinion; Krushev, soviet leader, famous for corroding Stalin’s myth and for his hostility towards Kennedy; Gorbachov, the last communist leader who improved relations between east and west, defused the bomb and prepared the way for the break down of the Berlin wall; the former president of the United States George W. Bush.

Premiered at the Museum of Contemporary Arts Villa Croce, Festival of Science, Genova 2005 and travelled to Naples and Brasil.

–SBPG Projects

DirectorSaskia BoddekeProd. CoTeatro del SuonoYear2005Servicesediting, compositing, 3D animation