Text by CLOT Magazine
Water is the most abundant material on the planet. It comprises up to 73% of the human body and three-quarters of the Earth’s surface, including oceans, seas, rivers, and lakes. It is one of the references for scientific measurement systems and can exist in three different forms: solid, liquid and gas. Water can generate energy, serve as a force of creation, nurture ecosystems, and inspire artistic creation. Anish Kapoor explores its fluid movement, Olafur Eliasson captures its frozen beauty, and Fujiko Nakaya transforms it into ethereal mist.
It is within this artistic context that, in collaboration with the art-science collective DIY Hack the Panke and scientists from the fields of ecohydrology and medicine, Art Laboratory Berlin present BODIES OF WATER in the context of the ongoing series ON WATER | PARCOURS by the Berlin University Alliance (BUA). BODIES OF WATER is a two-day festival (June 21 and 22) exploring themes around urban waterways and the forms that an urban river takes and the life that inhabits and surrounds the Panke River.
On Saturday 21, artist and researcher Sybille Neumeyer and bioartist, bio designer, and researcher Fara Peluso will open the festival, presenting the reading session and water sample collection Hydro Encounters – Becoming Companions. Then in the afternoon will take place the panel discussion Water, Bodies, and Planetary Health in which experts from art, medicine, and ecology such us Dr. Kat Austen, Jonas Mauch, Hélène Furaha Hauch will discuss how human-made pollutants—from pharmaceuticals to microplastics—affect Berlin’s waterways and the organisms they support. The session, moderated by Prof. Regine Rapp and Christian de Lutz from Art Laboratory Berlin, explores these issues through the lens of planetary health.
On Saturday and Sunday, two workshops will take place. Led by a multidisciplinary team including microbiologists, artists, and designers, including Prof. Dr India Mansour, Dr Joana MacLean, Sybille Neumeyer, and Fara Peluso, Amplifying River Communities is a hands-on workshop that invites participants of all ages to explore the microscopic life of the Panke River through creative, DIY techniques. Bilingual (German/English). While Berlin Flows is an interactive session that will combine science and art to examine the river’s movement. In this workshop, participants will engage in playful experiments with Panke’s flow guided by ecohydrologists, artists, and sound researchers, including Dr Kat Austen, Nenad Popov, Sarah Hermanutz, Dr Maria Warter and Dr Christian Marx. From 20:00 to 20:15, artists from the Berlin Flows workshop present a live sound piece using recordings from the Panke River. This performance showcases experimental methods in artistic water research.
Other highlights include the talk Atmospheric Water Harvesting with Johannes Müller and Microbial Parade—a walk along the Panke River that serves as a collective celebration of the river Panke. In the words of the organisers, it’s an homage to the microbial communities and other invisible residents that populate this vibrant urban waterway.
BODIES OF WATER RUNS on 21 and 22 June at Art Laboratory Berlin. More info and registration here.
