Book of Water II (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: Three-hour 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.
Preparation for contact printing: paper folding and bookbinding techniques, water prints with local water samples and non-toxic inks
The ‘Water in the Library’ collection of watery publications: books about water and the riverine imaginary
Performance-Movement: Connecting our bodies of water through embodied practice
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