MORE THAN WATER, MORE THAN RAIN, I NEED ELECTRICITY_part II The Fountain
The installation follows the research project on the industrial area of Budel Dorplein (NL), where the industrial contamination sustains a rare and protected ecosystem.
As the industry exploits water in various ways, the structure of a decomposed fountain becomes a symbol of modern-manmade-nature. A representation of human mastery over water and nature in a broader sense. The opposite of a waterfall, a metaphor of tamed nature.
In an era where evolution of major technological achievements have created a disregard for metaphysical beliefs and past traditions water has also become more of a tool, a raw material, stripped off its magical identity. The world has become less tangible, things lose their physical form, natural elements lose their superficial power and our now human manipulated.
Everything becomes more of an idea or an image of what it used to be and therefore more abstract. New realities, new values, new ecosystems emerge.
In the installation, the sound of water together with the sound of the machines working, create a tempo and an environment of reflection. A place where natural, artificial and superficial meet, redefining their connection and our reality. The means have changed but the intentions stay the same: Master nature and wish for more.
Moreover the installation comments on the ancient tradition of throwing a coin in the water as an offer to the gods thanking them for the gift of water, the ultimate creative force. The fountain is connected with a tablet running an app, inviting the viewer to make a wish and "throw" it digitally in the water. The wish is immediately turned into a number on the screen.
Part of the exhibition The Symbiocene Forest,
Bioart Laboratories, Dutch Design Week 2019, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Plastic bag, electric pumps, metal, wood, plastic tubes, glass vessels, water.