identify as applying...

Does this sentence:

Alys himself has identified the ‘ongoing’ principle of ‘nothingness to somethingness’ in the second part of the work as applying also to the Guards film for his London project.

mean:

Alys himself has identified that this principle of "nothingness to somethingness" that exists in the second part of the work is also found in the Guards film for his London project?

or

Alys himself has identifiedthe existence of this principle of "nothingness to somethingness" in the second part of the work, where it is also used in the Guards film for his London project..