the Milena principle : Video & Film Archive

 

performances | interview | documentary

 

 

A Bom Fim Talk
Conversation with Rosário Forjaz & Stefaan van Biesen
Location: Porto, Portugal | 2019
Duration: 21:53

 

A reflective conversation between Portuguese artist Rosário Forjaz and Belgian artist Stefaan van Biesen about the projects Meander and The Library of Walks at Escola Artística de Soares dos Reis in Porto, developed by Stefaan van Biesen and Annemie Mestdagh.

They also discuss their contributions to Made of Walking (III) in La Romieu, France (August 2017), focusing on their performative walks Light Walk and Enter The Triangle, as part of the international gathering of walking-based artists.
Camera: Annemie Mestdagh / the Milena principle.

 

 

 

 

 

Meander III

Performance/walk with students. Minho University Guimaraes Portugal 2018.

Duration 07:08

 

The Walking Body
A week-long program of conferences, workshops, and performances exploring the intersection of walking and the arts will take place in Guimarães. Open to students and the public, this event sets the stage for the international gathering Made of Walking, held later in 2019 in the Minho landscape of Northern Portugal.

 

Hosted by Lab2PT and the Visual Arts Department of the University of Minho (EAUM – School of Architecture), in collaboration with The Space Transcribers and the Nogueira da Silva Museum, the project offers a contemporary artistic reflection on rural and natural landscapes through embodied, site-specific practices. It explores themes of emotion, movement, and the human experience in the Anthropocene, through the questions artists pose and the responses they create.

 

Meander
By Stefaan van Biesen & Annemie Mestdagh (the Milena principle)
In Meander, walking becomes a tool for reflection and connection. Drawing on Eastern philosophy and Western thought, Stefaan van Biesen invites participants on a silent walk that explores presence, trust, and care. In this immersive performance, the act of walking transforms the participant into a living artwork.

 

 

 

 

 

Leafless (IV)
Performance by Eleftheria Rapti & Lina Efstathiou

Duration 14:50

Location: Independent Art Fair – Platform Projects, School of Fine Arts, Athens, Greece | 17–20 May 2018

Leafless (IV) is a “nomadic prop for silent gestures” — a poetic object seeking a performer. Conceived by Stefaan van Biesen as an invitation to dancers and movement artists to engage in acts of introspection through quiet, embodied interaction.

 

 

Special thanks To the performers: Eleftheria Rapti & Lina Efstathiou

Duration 21:05

 

A Ritual of Presence
Stefaan van Biesen approaches performance as a meaningful ritual—never as mere improvisation, but as a state of being. Through walking, he engages public space as a site of embodied memory and emotional resonance. Movement becomes a way of scanning the environment, connecting inner experience with the world and with others.

 

He trusts the body’s innate wisdom—its “emotional archive” of stored impressions—as a guide. This process invites a release, a remembering, a return. Archetypal gestures become cultural echoes, awakening a collective memory in the viewer.

 

Participants are given a nomadic object—an artistic prop designed by Annemie Mestdagh—as an invitation to think through feeling, and feel through movement.

 

 

 

 

 

Whiff [Whispering] – Green Line
Performance at Urban Emptiness Nicosia Festival, 2017
Duration: 02:57

 

A silent man whispering the world.
A gesture of tenderness, connection, and quiet resistance.

 

Whiff is the image of a caring hand, a standing figure, a projection of longing—words softly released into the air, hoping to travel through time and space. It is also an invitation to listen.

Though it may seem futile or absurd, the act of whispering becomes a powerful symbol of inner knowing. A reflection on how our presence, however subtle, shapes our surroundings and social ecosystems.

Here, whispering is not weakness, but a human force.
Silence becomes a radical call for care, for attention—an ecological and social gesture rooted in empathy.

 

 

 

 

 

Whisper
Performance – Urban Emptiness Nicosia Festival
Location: Paphos Gate (Green Line), Nicosia, Cyprus | 7 December 2017
Duration: 05:32

 

A contemplative performance at the divided heart of Nicosia, exploring silence, presence, and invisible borders.
Performance: Geert Vermeire
Concept, video & soundscore: Stefaan van Biesen
Camera & performance attribute: Annemie Mestdagh

 

 

 

 

 

Meander
Performance at Faneromeni Square, Nicosia, Cyprus – Urban Emptiness Festival 2017
Duration: 04:59

 

A silent walk through public space. Meander is a performance rooted in connection, release, trust, and care.

As you walk, you are no longer just an observer—you become the artwork. Guided by a shared presence, the performance invites participants to surrender to movement, attention, and mutual influence.

A choreography of stillness and subtlety, where being present is the act itself.

 

Participants: Frans Van Lent, Ieke Trinks, Annemie Mestdagh, Deirdre Macleod, William Mackaness, Sophia Hadjipapa Gee, Marie Christine Katz, Abdo Alrezq

 

 

 

 

 

Meander
Silent Performance – Urban Emptiness Network
Location: ARBA-ESA (Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts), Brussels, Belgium | 16 November 2017
Duration: 06:37

 

A silent, site-sensitive performance by students and artists within the framework of the Urban Emptiness Network and the "Walking as Research Lab" at ARBA-ESA.
Concept & video: Stefaan van Biesen
Performance attribute: Annemie Mestdagh

 

 

 

 

 

The Sergiu Celibidache Variations
Performance / Video – Venice, 2017
Duration: 06:03

 

Conducting a Landscape

Music, like landscape, has form—mountains, valleys, rivers—a living topography. The Sergiu Celibidache Variations explores how we move through this terrain without altering it, how we become aware of its structure, presence, and essence.

 

Inspired by the teachings of conductor Sergiu Celibidache, this performance challenges the notion of musical interpretation. Music is not a static object to be flavored or reshaped. It is a space to be inhabited, a unity to be revealed.

 

Following the composer’s intent is not about adding expression, but about unfolding what is already there—respecting the integrity of the whole.

 

Concept: Geert Vermeire, student of Celibidache

 

 

 

 

 

A Conversation Piece

Duration 03:41

 

Venice 2017. Geert Vermeire and Stefaan van Biesen. Camera by Annemie Mestdagh.

Shown on the Urban Emptiness Nicosia Festival 2017. 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfolding Memories
Performance / Video – La Giudecca, Venice, 2017
Duration: 01:37

 

Performed in front of the home of our host, Gabriella Pietropaoli, Unfolding Memories is a quiet tribute to the laundry performance by ARTICACTS (CAN) – Pam Patterson and Leena Raudvee – presented during Made of Walking III in La Romieu, France (September 2017).

 

This intimate gesture of remembrance weaves personal space with collective memory, folding and unfolding moments of care, presence, and artistic dialogue.

 

The video was later screened at the Urban Emptiness Nicosia Festival 2017.

 

 

 

 

 

About Lucius Burckhardt & Joseph Beuys
Talk at Peppermint, Documenta 14 – Kassel, Germany | 12.09.2017
Duration: 15:39

 

During Documenta 14, the library of Lucius and Annemarie Burckhardt—pioneers of Spaziergangwissenschaft ("the science of walking")—was hosted at Peppermint. Their visionary thinking, rooted in their work at the University of Kassel, continues to influence contemporary urban pedagogy and the practice of “walking the city” as a form of learning.

 

In this recorded conversation, Geert Vermeire and Stefaan van Biesen reflect on the enduring legacy of the Burckhardts and the relevance of walking as artistic and educational method.

 

Camera: Annemie Mestdagh

Presented by: the Milena principle

 

 

 

 

 

Enter the Triangle
Video Performance – Made of Walking, Delphi, Greece | 2017
Duration: 03:14

 

A choreographed performance for three walkers and dancers, unfolding within the symbolic and mythological landscape of Delphi.

Enter the Triangle explores the geometry of presence, movement, and connection—where walking becomes ritual and the body draws invisible lines across space.

Concept & Video: Stefaan van Biesen / the Milena principle
Attribute Design: Annemie Mestdagh / the Milena principle

 

Performers:
Lina Efstathiou, Eleni Nakou, Julia Redei, Penny Finiri, Leand Kalaja, Panagiotis Lezes, Aliki Arnaouti, Ioanna Thanou (Mikro Skordopsomo), Chara Tzoka, Marianna Makri, Geert Vermeire, Haris Pellapaisiotis

 

 

 

 

 

Utopia Talk
A conversation at the NeMe Art Centre – Limassol, Cyprus | 2017
Duration: 10:45

 

A reflective talk by Geert Vermeire (curator) and Stefaan van Biesen (the Milena principle) on the Utopia Project developed in Limassol and Nicosia.

Presented in the House of Pandora during the Urban Emptiness Network exhibition at NeMe Art Centre, the talk explores themes of idealism, urban space, and participatory art practices.

Camera: Annemie Mestdagh

 

 

 

 

 

Utopia Book
Reading Ritual by Helene Black – NeMe Art Centre, Limassol, Cyprus | 2017
Duration: 09:30

 

During the Urban Emptiness Network exhibition, Helene Black performed a ritual reading of the Utopia Book—a poetic exploration of walking, place, and transformation.

This second edition, created by Stefaan van Biesen, was used during walks in Limassol and Nicosia with Geert Vermeire, Stefaan van Biesen, Marielys Lely Burgos, and Annemie Mestdagh.

 

Utopia and Walking reflects on the word Utopia as a gesture—how books open worlds, walking becomes togetherness, and space transforms through flow, exchange, and drift. It explores playing the city, shifting perspectives, inner knowledge, and the power of words as carriers of attention and gifts to the environment.

Camera: Annemie Mestdagh

 

 

 

 

 

Sensing Silence
Group Performance & Workshop – EMST, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece | May 2016
Duration: 24:48

 

At the time of EMST’s opening, the museum stood completely empty—its modern art collection yet to arrive. The first artwork presented was this silent group performance by 15 participants including theater artists, dancers, curators, and visual artists, curated by Geert Vermeire.

 

Sensing Silence: The Diogenes Variations is a performance by Geert Vermeire and Stefaan van Biesen (the Milena principle), accompanied by a workshop exploring silence, the body, and space within the museum’s empty galleries. Collaborators include architect Christos Kakalis and sound artist Andromachi Vrakatseli.

Rooted in the interplay of sound and walking as artistic research methods, the project investigates movement, embodiment, and sound in silent spaces, using recording, drawing, and writing to map trajectories through emptiness.

 

This event was part of the Urban Emptiness Network (Edinburgh-Brussels-Athens 2016) and organized in collaboration with EMST and curator Anina Valkana as part of the museum’s educational programs, including “Young Sound Explorers.”

 

Partners: DEREE – The American College of Greece / Theatre Arts & Dance Department, Athens School of Fine Arts, National Technical University Athens / School of Architecture, Urban Emptiness Network, the Milena principle
Camera: Annemie Mestdagh & Stefaan van Biesen

 

 

 

 

 

Sketchbook Urban Emptiness
Notes and drawings by Stefaan van Biesen & Geert Vermeire
Presented during the Urban Emptiness Network exhibition, Sculpture Court, ECA Main Building, Edinburgh, UK | June 2016
Duration: 02:31

 

This sketchbook captures the reflections, notes, and drawings created during the Urban Emptiness project at the University of Edinburgh in 2016.

The project explores silence, narrative, and the intimacy of the city through actions and workshops across Athens, Edinburgh, and Brussels.

 

Displayed as part of the interdisciplinary exhibition and symposium The Place of Silence: Experience, Environment and Affect, the work investigates emptiness and quiet as vital urban experiences.

 

 

 

 

 

Sea Born Talk
The Milena Principle
Duration: 12:01

 

A reflective talk on the past and ongoing projects of the Milena principle during their various stays in Venice since 1993. Presented at Q O2 Brussels as part of the Urban Emptiness project.

Camera: Annemie Mestdagh

 

 

 

 

 

Urban Emptiness / Talk
Video recording of a discussion by Geert Vermeire and Stefaan van Biesen
Duration: 19:35

 

A conversation about the Urban Emptiness project, initiated by Stella Mygdali and Christos Kakalis (College of Art, University of Edinburgh).

Filmed at the home of Sam Kirke, where the Milena principle were guests.

Camera: Annemie Mestdagh

 

 

 

 

 

The Diogenes Variations
The Milena Principle
Duration: 02:05

 

A wandering performance by Geert Vermeire and Stefaan van Biesen at the College of Art, University of Edinburgh. Presented during the Urban Emptiness project by Stella Mygdali and Christos Kakalis.

Location: Sculpture Court
Camera: Annemie Mestdagh

 

 

 

 

 

Unisono
The Milena Principle
Duration: 02:56

 

A silent performance by Geert Vermeire and Stefaan van Biesen at the College of Art, University of Edinburgh, as part of the Urban Emptiness project by Stella Mygdali and Christos Kakalis.

Location: Sculpture Court
Camera: Annemie Mestdagh

 

 

 

 

 

Talk at The Bath House of the Winds
The Milena Principle – Athens, Greece | 2015
Duration: 10:33

 

A talk by Geert Vermeire and Stefaan van Biesen held in the historic Bath House of the Winds. They discuss their project at the Italian Cultural Institute in Athens, presented during the Invisible Cities project curated by Maria Saridaki.

Camera: Annemie Mestdagh

 

 

 

 

 

On The Surface
The Milena Principle
Duration: 04:13

 

A performance by Geert Vermeire writing a poem on the water’s surface in Venice. Set at Campo San Pantalon, in the heart of the old city, this piece was later presented during the Invisible Cities project in Athens, Greece.

Camera: Stefaan van Biesen

 

 

 

 

 

Unfolding The City
The Milena Principle
Duration: 04:32

 

A performance by Geert Vermeire, writing text on the pavements of Campo San Pantalon, Venice. This piece was later presented during the Invisible Cities project in Athens, Greece.

Camera: Annemie Mestdagh

 

 

 

 

 

Sea Born
A Talk by Geert Vermeire and Stefaan van Biesen (the Milena principle)
Duration: 14:23

 

Presented at Valentina Genio’s house on Giudecca, this talk reflects on the Sea Born performance by the Milena principle in Venice (2015). Part of the Invisible Cities project at the Italian Cultural Institute in Athens.

Camera: Annemie Mestdagh

 

 

 

 

 

Sea Born Talk
The Milena Principle
Duration: 14:23

 

A reflective talk on the past and present projects of the Milena principle, spanning their residencies in Venice since 1993. Recorded at Giudecca, Venice, as guests in the home of Valentina Genoa.

Camera: Annemie Mestdagh

 

 

 

 

 

Writing and reading the city through the body

Duration 15:02

Interview for B_Tour Festival Leipzig Germany 2015.

 

 

 

 

 

Urban Rituals / Resounding Cities
Wall Installation – Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Lisbon, Portugal | 2015
Duration: 03:29

 

A collaborative sound and visual installation connecting Athens, Brussels, and Lisbon through workshops and soundwalks with students from RITCS Brussels.

 

Presented by the Milena principle alongside partner collectives in Lisbon and Athens, the project explores urban rituals and everyday practices across diverse cities. It highlights the coherence of shared human experiences beyond geographical and cultural differences, using artistic interventions and remote collaboration to create a resonant network of urban voices.

 

 

 

 

 

Water Carrier | for I am water now

Duration 05:04

Museu Nogueire da Silva Braga Portugal 2014.

 

 

 

 

 

Liquid Islands
The Milena Principle – Performance, Venice, Italy
Duration: 12:46

 

Liquid Islands is an intimate urban intervention by the Milena principle in Venice’s historic Renaissance setting. Performer Myriam Bosschem (Belgium) approached strangers with an unusual gesture—offering to wash their feet as a symbol of care and connection.

 

Beginning early morning at Campo San Margherita, she invited passersby to participate. Eventually, a traveling Norwegian couple, Jette KJ Øigard and Bjarne Bjerkeland, accepted the offer. The final ritual unfolded at Campo San Zaccaria, near San Marco, by an old water fountain—an unexpected moment of pause and reflection for the passing crowd.

 

 

 

 

 

Uma orelha sobre a relva
Video by Stefaan van Biesen
Duration: 07:55

 

A video featuring five poems in Portuguese by poet Geert Vermeire (2012), created as part of The Dürer Connection: Uma Orelha Sobre a Relva / Uma Biblioteca Imaginária.

Presented at the National Library of Brasilia (October 2011), this exhibition explored the library as a space of imagination, combining video poetry and writing performances. The project connects the themes of travel as an artistic tool and José Saramago’s novel Blindness.

Artists: Stefaan Van Biesen, Geert Vermeire, Yiannis Melanitis
Curator: Geert Vermeire
Literary Consultant: Simona Vermeire

In collaboration with EUNIC – European Union National Institutes for Culture and UnB – University of Brasilia

 

 

 

 

 

The Letter
Writing Performance
Duration: 02:27

 

A writing performance—“a letter to a scarecrow”—set in the historic kitchen garden of Museu Biscainhos, Braga, Portugal (2011).

 

 

 

 

 

Throwing Whispers
Gesture (VI) – Urban Ritual
Duration: 03:01

 

An urban ritual by Annemie Mestdagh and Stefaan van Biesen at Largo S. Tiago, Braga, Portugal (2011). Against the backdrop of women complaining about the city’s ban on feeding pigeons, this video serves as a warm greeting to “all sisters of mercy.” The action took place quietly in front of a police office—without any disturbance.

 

 

 

 

 

The Go-Between 

Duration 04:16

exhibition Museu Nogueira da Silva Braga Portugal 2011. Time 04:15.

 

 

 

 

 

Score for Buzzer I
The Milena Principle – Performance
Duration: 03:29

 

A reprise of Geert Vermeire’s Score for Buzzer, performed by the Milena principle at the Accademia Dantesca symposium in Jahnishausen, Germany (2011). Invited by Christian Hardt (Der Wachsblock), the performance took place on a summer evening in an enchanting setting near Dresden.

 

 

 

 

 

Canto Indentro
The Milena Principle – Performance
Duration: 15:03

 

Performed at Accademia Dantesca Jahnishausen (near Dresden, Germany) on June 4, 2011. This piece features Canto I from Dante’s Divina Commedia, delivered in five languages by Linda Ivens, Stefaan van Biesen, Annemie Mestdagh, Walter en Linda Van Dam, and Geert Vermeire.

 

 

 

 

 

Water Carrier
The Milena Principle – Museum Nogueira Da Silva, Braga, Portugal | 2014
Duration: 02:47

 

A public talk by Simona Vermeire, Geert Vermeire, and Stefaan van Biesen, featuring an Urban Tea Ritual and artwork by Stefaan van Biesen, alongside a writing performance by Geert Vermeire. This artistic gesture explores the concept of utopic democracy as a shared field of experience.

 

 

 

 

 

Rainsongs
The Milena Principle – Athens, Greece | 2011
Duration: 02:14

 

A listening performance with Vaitsa Papazikou and Dimitra Siliali at the Acropolis, Athens. Amidst a curtain of rain, the young artists create a delicate soundscape in a city paused by a thunderstorm.

 

 

 

 

 

Urban Oracle
The Milena Principle – Athens, Greece | 2011
Duration: 02:33

 

Vaitsa Papazikou, Dimitra Siliali, Stefaan van Biesen, and Geert Vermeire share tender words to the city of Athens. Their visions and wishes unfold in a utopian, human space of listening and silence.

 

 

 

 

 

I Wish We Were Like Water
Video Performance
Location: Biscainhos Museum, Braga, Portugal | July 2010
Duration: 04:20

 

A video recording of Geert Vermeire’s writing performance in the courtyard of Biscainhos Museum, part of the Milena Principle art project Luggage Carrier – How Long Is Now?

 

 

 

 

 

The Go-Between
Video adaptation of Stefaan van Biesen’s performance
Location: Nogueira da Silva Museum garden, Braga, Portugal | Summer 2010
Duration: 07:38

 

Captured during the inauguration of the exhibition Luggage Carrier – How Long Is Now?

 

 

 

 

 

Homage to Patinir (1480-1524)

Duration 08:08

Video for 'Transmutações da Paisagem' the Convent of Tibaes Portugal 2010

 

 

 

 

 

Gepäckträger (II) – Luggage Carrier (II)
Film and Public Conversation
Location: Kassel, Germany | July 2007
Duration: 80:00

 

A film documenting a public conversation between art historian Dr. Rhea Thönges Stringaris and the Milena Principle during the 24-hour project Gepäckträger (II), held in her home during Documenta 11. Geert Vermeire interviews her with a participatory audience, exploring the artistic legacy of Joseph Beuys (1921–1986) and discussing the future direction of art.

 

 

 

 

Grass drüber
Film and Interviews
Location: Kassel, Germany | July 2007
Duration: 18:00

 

A film documenting the Milena Principle’s stay at Ingrid Pee’s house during Documenta 11. Features interviews with German-Dutch artist Niki Fröhling about her site-specific installation drüber Grass in Ingrid Pee’s garden, followed by a conversation with Ingrid Pee. Interviews conducted by Stefaan van Biesen, Geert Vermeire, Filip Van de Velde, Annemie Mestdagh, and Sylvie Duhamel.

 

 

 

 

 

The Fire Place
Film and Discussion
Location: Kassel, Germany | February 2007
Duration: 62:56

 

Documenting the Milena Principle’s first visit to Dr. Rhea Thönges Stringaris, art historian and close friend of Joseph Beuys (1921–1986). During this meeting, the team presented Milena Principle projects and engaged in in-depth discussions. This visit served as a 24-hour preparation for the Gepäckträger (II) project, held in July 2007 during Documenta 11. The Milena Principle stayed with Ingrid Pee.

 

 

 

 

 

Resident of Cities (Gepäckträger)
Film Documentation
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands | July 2006
Duration: 30:01

 

A 24-hour Milena Principle project hosted at Niki Fröhling’s home in Amsterdam. Serving as an extension of Gepäckträger (I), which took place one month earlier in Berlin, this project was conceived as a “Table of Meetings,” inviting guests to actively participate throughout the event.

 

 

 

 

 

Grunewald Variations
Performance (Gepäckträger)
Location: Berlin, Germany | 2006
Duration: 5:55

 

Die Grünewald Variationen reveals the silent path of a walker through Berlin’s Grunewald forest—a tribute to the deportees sent to unknown and tragic fates. A gesture of remembrance and commitment.

 

 

 

 

 

Dans-t-u? - Do You Dance?

Duration 10:22

Public performance by Filip Van de Velde, 'Moving Image' Belgium 2006.

 

 

 

 

 

The Naumburg Variations
Public Performance
Location: Naumburg Cathedral, Germany | 2005
Duration: 18:57

 

A public performance during the Friedrich Nietzsche Seminar in Ostmanstedt near Weimar, conceived by Stefaan van Biesen. Held at the historic Naumburg Cathedral, the event was part of a philosophical gathering organized by Ingrid Pee.
Camera and performance attribute: Annemie Mestdagh.

 

 

 

 

 

Bridgewriter
Performance – Venice, Italy | 2005

Duration 04:40

 

During the 2005 Venice Biennale, the Milena Principle stayed at Casa Querini, a Renaissance building near the San Marco Basilica. Several planned performances were realized, including Bridgewriter by Geert Vermeire on the Magdalena Bridge — part of a series of writing performances such as Writing in Water in the rising tides of Campo San Giorgio dei Greci and the canals of Cannaregio. The visit also included a lecture on “The Bridge of Encounters” and a nocturnal walk to Calle dei Amici, a symbolic Venetian place of timeless friendship.

 

 

 

 

Writing in Sand

Duration 03:48

Performance Geert Vermeire 'Een Grenzeloos Glooien' Magdalena Church Bruges Belgium 2005.

 

 

 

 

Whisperer
Performance Excerpt
Location: Park of De Campagne, Drongen, Belgium | 2004
Duration: 02:58

 

An excerpt from the performance Whisperer, presented during the exhibition About Melancholy / Omtrent Melancholie. Curated by Filip Van de Velde (S.M.A.K. – Museum of Contemporary Art, Ghent), the event took place in the atmospheric surroundings of the De Campagne park.

 

 

 

 

 

Wereldstede – Sleeper (II)
Sleep Performance by Julie Snauwaert
Location: De Campagne, Drongen, Belgium | 2004
Duration: 03:45

 

Presented during About Melancholy / Omtrent Melancholie, curated by Filip Van de Velde (S.M.A.K. – Museum of Contemporary Art, Ghent). The performance explores vulnerability and presence through sleep as artistic gesture. Later reprised at the Museu Nogueira da Silva in Braga, Portugal.

 

 

 

 

 

Score for Buzzer I
Humming Performance by Geert Vermeire
Location: De Campagne, Drongen, Belgium | 14 November 2004
Duration: 03:35

 

A humming performance presented during About Melancholy / Omtrent Melancholie, curated by Filip Van de Velde (S.M.A.K. – Museum of Contemporary Art, Ghent). A quiet reflection on resonance, presence, and emotional undercurrent.