An astonishing film opens this mesmerising exhibition. It shows a crowd of children in a parched and barren landscape at dusk, staring intently up at the sky. Above them swarm thousands of buzzing black dots. The children appear to mimic the sound, and even the movement, circling directly below.
Suddenly a boy snatches at the air; then another, and another. A fourth breaks away and claps his hands. The camera moves from their upturned faces to behold the almost imperceptible descent of one insect after another, in the sweltering twilight. This is the Democratic Republic of Congo, increasingly plagued by malaria, and these boys have found a sound pitched at a level that is irresistible to female mosquitoes, dragging them away from their mates. But this is also a daily game: who will cull most pests in this dance of flirtation and death?
