ALBA IMERI

®2024

ALBA IMERI

®2024

ALBA IMERI

®2024

Fluid Ecologies

A installation exhibited as part of the Future of Life Elementals program in Karlsruhe, Germany. The installation visualises the pigment, polluted and fibrous matter part of the River Rhine. The dynamic installation mirrors water’s fluidity, the ground installs a gridded geometric form to replicate the commodifying and human straightening of the River Rhine in the 1800s that reduced the river’s biodiversity, and environment. The fabric diptychs act as the centrepiece of the installation. The diptych is made using material mindfully harvested at the River Rhine applying natural dye techniques and soil chromatography.

Client

Future of Life

DELIVERABLES

Installation Soil Chromotography

Year

2022

Role

Creative Collaborator / Artist

the challenge

the INTENT

How can we reconnect with rivers not as resources to exploit but as living, relational bodies? The Rhine River, once biodiverse, was straightened and commodified in the 1800s, disrupting its ecosystems and cultural rhythms.

How can we reconnect with rivers not as resources to exploit but as living, relational bodies? The Rhine River, once biodiverse, was straightened and commodified in the 1800s, disrupting its ecosystems and cultural rhythms.

To create an installation that visualises the Rhine’s disrupted ecology, with performances that embody water’s fluidity and relationality, engaging users sensorially with the river’s past and present inviting reflection on human impact and interdependence with natural bodies.

RESEARCH

Inspired by Astrida Neimanis’ “Hydrofeminism: Or, On Becoming a Body of Water”, the project explores the interconnectedness of human and non-human bodies through water. During the field trip to the River Rhine, Dr Christian Damm discussed the 19th-century engineering of the Rhine and its ecological consequences.

Inspired by Astrida Neimanis’ “Hydrofeminism: Or, On Becoming a Body of Water”, the project explores the interconnectedness of human and non-human bodies through water. During the field trip to the River Rhine, Dr Christian Damm discussed the 19th-century engineering of the Rhine and its ecological consequences.

RESEARCH

Investigated natural dye techniques and soil chromatography to represent the river's current state.

Investigated natural dye techniques and soil chromatography to represent the river's current state.

Prototyping

Central to the installation were fabric diptychs, dyed with natural pigments, soil, and organic materials harvested along the river. These acted as sensory archives, encoding traces of the Rhine's altered state.

Central to the installation were fabric diptychs, dyed with natural pigments, soil, and organic materials harvested along the river. These acted as sensory archives, encoding traces of the Rhine's altered state.

Building and Testing

Working together with another colleague in the exhibit, I creatively directed a zine as a response to the group exhibition, inviting global artists to participate.

Working together with another colleague in the exhibit, I creatively directed a zine as a response to the group exhibition, inviting global artists to participate.

Outcome

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