book of water (tidal lea)
totally thames festival with cody dock
london 2024
book of water (tidal lea) is a participatory art workshop that invites people to explore their relationship with the river lea — a thames tributary — through meditative walking, ecological printmaking, and collaborative book-making.
the idea is to slow down, attune to the rhythms of the river, and work with its materials — water, plants, sediment, light — to create a collective artist’s book. it becomes a kind of tidal archive, holding the traces of our shared time with the river.
the workshop was carefully timed to follow the tidal rhythm of the river lea — a tributary of the thames, whose tides are in turn governed by the pull of the atlantic ocean. participants moved through moments of intention-setting, creative flow, and reflection in synchrony with the rising and falling water, attuning their practice to the pulse of the river system.
River Lea meditation: the workshop begins with a collective movement meditation — an embodied invitation to slow down and enter into dialogue with the river’s presence.
the workshop offers multiple layers of engagement. the meditative walk and the shared experience of making a book create a space that’s both spiritual and communal — a moment to slow down, connect with others, and with the river itself.
Direct contact printing: water prints with local water samples and non-toxic inks
participants work in collaboration with plants and water, exploring alternative photographic techniques in a way that’s tactile, intuitive, and deeply rewarding.
in a quiet moment of attunement, participants work with river water, plants, and light
— translating their sensory encounters into pages for the collective book.
participants gather to assemble and sequence the book — a shared act of reflection,
composing the flow of the day into a tactile river of pages.
while participants contribute to a collective artist’s book that holds the memory of the day, they also take home their own prints and experiments, as well as the emotional imprint of a day spent in slowness, attention, and creative flow.
River Lea meditation: the workshop ends as it began — with a slow, collective movement meditation
by the water. a gesture of return, release, and embodied gratitude.
'Water in the Library’ offered participants a stream of river-related publications
— a shared space for reading, drifting, and researching ideas in dialogue with water
the river on paper: scanned pages from the collective book, each holding an imprint of the day
— water, breath, plant, and gesture gathered into a shared archive.
Book of Water (Tidal Lea), 2024
Materials: Grass paper, handmade papers, river-specific water, ink, charcoal, rope, botany, and other organic materials
Measurements: 89 x 332 cm (open)
Format: Workshop designed by paula roush
and co-facilitated with hera santos
Participants: 14
Commissioner: Totally Thames Festival
in partnership with Cody Dock
Location: Cody Dock Growing Space, a community
horticultural hub in the Lower Lea Valley and River Lea
at the Thames estuary
Date: 28 September 2024
Water Sources: Collected from the river, Dock 1, Dock 2, bund, and rainwater approximately three hours before low tide. Conditions: overcast, slight wind(<5 mph), and a surface oil layer following heavy rainfall in the preceding days. Water quality testing conducted on 24/09/2024 indicated elevated phosphates and nitrates in the river.
Water samples and analysis provided by
Gino Brignoli (Cody Dock BioDiversity Officer)
Participating Artists:
- Fiona Mackenzie
- Laura Dekker
- Laura Malacart
- Veronique Dupont
- Una Leonard
- Travis Crowther
- Mica Li
- Pierre-Luc Chaumet
- Rio Javier Gonzalez
- Sam Parfitt
The Books of Water workshop series is part of the ongoing Follow Y/Our River project, initiated through an artist-led residency tracing the River Lea’s journey from its source to its confluence with the Thames. The project uses locally sourced water and plants, the traditional Japanese technique of suminagashi, to create a collaborative artist’s book. Through performative, embodied practice, participants connect with felt sense, transcending linear time to experience a transformative engagement with riverine ecology and memory.
Related publications:
Follow Y/Our River (Books of Water)
Part of the Totally Thames Festival
at Cody Dock (Growing Space)
Saturday, 28 September 2024
Totally Thames is an annual season of
unique, diverse and accessible arts and
culture throughout the month of September
with activity taking place on, beneath,
and along the River Thames.
@instagram.com/thamesfestivaltrust/
contact
paula roush ::: paularoush@gmail.com
msdm studio ::: msdm@msdm.org.uk