Lost Continent
A report
The Lost Continent has long been affected by catastrophic modifications. But new, emerging ecosystems have been detected.
REGRESSO
lat. regressus
1. The act or effect of regressing, to return to an earlier place or condition; to revert.
2. The opposite of progress.
The ongoing research on the Lost Continent shows that the region’s landscape has suffered massive transformations. The studies attempt to reassemble from its ruins the forgotten history of the region. The following is a short report on the most notable formations found by scientists.
The geometry of the lakes
The first evidence that the landscape had been designed emerged from the analysis of an isolated area. Lake formations seemed quite unique: shorelines and depths followed a precise geometric system.
The source of that geometry has recently been revealed. The lakes were formed in places of mining activity. In times past, a specific type of ore was found in the deepest layers of the terrain: coal. The culture revolved around the use of coal. The fossil was extracted from the earth through deep opencast mining excavations. The remains of industrial ruins can be found in the vicinity of the lakes, where coal was processed as an energy source. Burning fuel for energy produced toxic by-products that contaminated the entire region.
Countless opencast mines transformed the region’s topography. The geometric lakes are inverted mountains flooded with water.
Deleted towns
Excavations reveal an extensive urban area located in another region of the continent. Remains of houses, streets, and rivers are buried under contaminated soil. Geographical analysis indicates that towns had been stricken by events similar to volcanic eruptions, known as “mud seas.” Mountains seemed to crumble and earth and water avalanches inundated the entire region.
Residues of various metals are still discernible, indicating soil rich in ore minerals. Examination reveals that mining transformed the mountains into empty containers: hills were hollowed out and used for storing tailings from the extraction process. It was as if the mountains were transformed into huge basins of contaminated mud. The mud seas phenomenon arose from dam collapses.
Disasters must have occurred repeatedly over the years, until several towns were submerged.
The construction of a desert
Many dirt roads lead to a region where a huge sandy desert was discovered. Evidence reveals that a large rainforest once existed in the area. This forest vegetation was gradually replaced by extensive plantations, which led to soil impoverishment and changes in rainfall frequency. Droughts became a common phenomenon.
This gradual environmental change likely led to the supposition that the process was natural and inevitable. Until one day the forest irreversibly became a desert.
Fourth nature
Islands of humidity are being modelled after ancient techniques of geodesic spheres. These domes function as temporary greenhouses that allow an ecosystem to develop through cultivation of different species. The triangular structure provides stability and lightness for extreme conditions. Humidity is gradually restored inside the insulated spaces. A cloud-formation principle can already be observed.
The islands of humidity are forming a new landscape. It is hoped that the green areas will become autonomous ecosystems. Environmental growth must reach specific levels for self-sufficient development. When this time comes, the domes may be removed.
Expansion of the green zones should decrease the distances between the islands of humidity, so the projected environmental mosaic will result in a forest: the long-awaited new wilderness.
Reversion is expected.
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Watch the film
Lost Continent creates a narrative from very concrete elements of the Brazilian landscape and history. The images of ruins are drawn from registers of the Museu Nacional after the fire that destroyed its building. Mountains of the Lost Continent are shaped after those in Minas Gerais. The process of desertification is elaborated with modified satellite images showing areas of deforestation in the Amazon region. By displacing time and temporal frames, the film occupies an external, alien perspective that highlights the absurdity of recent events in Brazil.