Index

It is a soundscape of the Ślepiotka River catchment which flows through Katowice. It is a kind of record of the layers of human history and the natural environment preserved on an audio carrier.

Transferring the acoustics of the catchment, with all its environmental contexts, was possible thanks to the field recording method with the use of the ZOOM H5 sound recorder. Sonification of landscape, related to the field called the ecology of music, helps to notice the multitude of elements, both positive and negative, connected with noise pollution. The author managed to register, among other things, the low drone sounds of helicopters flying over the nearby hospital, as well as a close encounter with a pack of wild boars using the riverbed as an ecological corridor. Thanks to this function of the river, animals, plants, and fungi can move safely between their habitats in the city’s surroundings. The waterfront areas of Ślepiotka are among the most interesting in this industrial part of Upper Silesia. This river has its origins in the ‘Ochojec’ nature reserve, which, despite the degradation of the environment, still shelters some remnants of the old Silesian forest. In its shadow hide the relict habitats of the protected Streptopus amplexifolius and Meripilus giganteus. Another rare, protected species appearing in the Ślepiotka Valley is the giant horsetail, which can grow almost 2 m high. It is a reminder not only of the riparian forests but also of the wet meadows.

The album has been divided into three acts referring successively to three different areas of the studied river together with the corresponding geographical coordinates:

Source: 50°12’17.0″N 19°00’14.5″E 08:08

Middle: 50°12’59.2″N 18°58’44.2″E 04:34

Estuary: 50°13’42.7″N 18°55’27.5″E 10:11

It is available for public listening via Bandcamp.

https://plk423.bandcamp.com/album/wzmocnienie-g-osu-rzeki-miejskiej-lepiotka-2022?fbclid=IwAR0mHWkfFDwN67Ij45sMb-9HrWrbbmhuz7iZgJ95vb-1GVjxk8J_B1XwXFo

It is a part of the bachelor’s thesis entitled: Natural and socio-cultural characteristics of the Ślepiotka river basin, carried out at the University of Silesia, Faculty of Natural Sciences, in cooperation with Dr. Piotr Siwek (Director of the Aquamatics – interdisciplinary management of water environments).

002

2021

002

2021

Future Memories of Deep Water

Indiara Di Benedetto (she/her)

#Aquatic imaginaries

#digital media

#future

#plastic

#pollutions

2021

What are the changing conditions for Archaeology in underwater ecosystems? Can challenges be predicted and solutions imagined using Machine Learning?
With the passage of time, underwater artifacts are encrusted with coral, algae or other marine organisms. How do human activities and pollutions undermine these natural environments? What will our underwater heritage be like in the future?
The project: “Future Memories of Deep Water” explores how algorithms can be used for predicting new entanglements between underwater artifacts and the changing environment where they are discovered. We reflect on current problems and dangers for marine environments, such as “plasticrust” and plastic pollution.
Built upon experimental speculation, Future Memories of Deep Water calls for the protection of threatened marine ecosystems and aims to create awareness and encourage preservation of cultural heritage.

Future Memories of Deep Water

003

2020

003

2020

Milik Bersama Rekombinan (Recombinant Commons)

Mary Magic

#bodies of water

#contaminations

#microplastic

#pollutions

#rivers

2020

At first glance, River Code (“cho-deh”) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia is a surreal landscape colonized by plastic, with its citizens believing their water is clean enough for daily use. While the root of the problem is complex and multi-faceted (income level, pollution as colonialism, and lack of government infrastructure) it can ultimately be addressed at the social-cultural level, requiring empathy to live and cope in toxic conditions. In this trilogy of works, the artist reflects on the polluted landscape of the river and the local citizens who live densely and intimately in its watery embrace. While water is the medium that connects us all, it is also the primary carrier of the industrial molecules, simultaneously queering both the river and the bodies of its inhabitants. Can the marginalized people of River Code care for the health of the river as if it were their own bodies? Can mutation and shape-shifting be acknowledged as legitimate strategies for survival?

The installation includes a rotating mandala projection comprised on trash found in the river, symbolizing the constant recombination of plastic particles inside our own bodies. The installation also includes a bamboo sculpture of River Code filled with blue agar that invites microbial contamination juxtaposed against contained samples of bioremediating fungi. Next, the river is flanked by a set of two latex sculptures embodying the porosity of skin as it is embedded with trash from the river. And lastly, the installation plays a child’s recording of the story “Bagaimana Dunia Berhenti Bergerak” or “How the World Stopped Moving,” a story about the river who speaks to a little girl and tells her it is hurting because it cannot digest all the plastic, so it must return it all to humanity.

Created for the Yogyakarta International Contemporary Visual Arts Festival ARTJOG: Arts in Common curated by Agung Hujatnikajennong and Ignatia Nilu. Photos courtesy of ARTJOG MMXIX at Jogja national Museum

Description from the artist’s website: Milik Bersama Rekombinan – Mary Maggic Official

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