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FLOW
I work with found objects--- primarily metal
and glass. Since 2000, I have created three
environmentally-themed works: Invasive Species (2000-02), an
installation that illustrates the mass extinction of species and the
transformation of our natural environments; A Piece of the Pie
(2005-02), a series of sculpture that focuses on some of the factors
responsible for this transformation, in which statistics in the form
of pie graphs are used as patterns for composition to outline the
expansion of world consumption; and FLOW (2008-09), an installation
inspired by the condition of the freshwater of the Columbia Basin,
the region I have lived in since 1992.
In the preliminary design of
FLOW, it was my intention to continue using statistics as
patterns and to create an installation that departed from the global
perspective found in A Piece of the Pie, in a study more
specific and closer to home--- a detailed examination of the
observed changes and projections of the Columbia Basin water
resources. The majority of the data was to come from two
Columbia Basin Trust reports; however, the numbers soon became mind
numbing, perhaps because it was too close to home, and what started
as an objective scientifically inspired model slowly turned into a
personal reaction to the controversial run-of-river Independent
Power Production (IPP) projects supported by our current government
The overall design features my interpretation of a hydroelectric
turbine. Included within the model are representations of the
turbine blades, generator, transmission lines and wicket gates---
that which controls the flow of water from the input pipes.
Within each wicket gate is a circle of glasswork that
symbolizes water, working its way in sequence from top to bottom
suggesting the hydrologic cycle (evaporation, condensation, etc.).
Materials utilized with specific relevance to the model include:
several trampoline frames (and springs) signifying the rise and fall
of water levels; and stove-top elements, indicative of our
consumption of electricity.
While I acknowledge the
importance of hydroelectric power generation, I question the current
trend of expansion. I am deeply concerned about the impact
this will have on flow regimes, fish and wildlife. On the
cover page of the State of the Environment Reporting: A framework
and indicators for the Columbia Basin (Holt, Rachel .F.,
Veridian Ecological Consulting Ltd., 2004) are the following
quotations:
"We humans can no longer
assume that the services Nature inherently performs are always going
to be there, because the consequences of our frequently unconscious
actions affect Nature in many unforeseen and unpredictable ways."
---Chris Maser
"What gets measured gets
managed. What gets reported gets understood." ---Institute
for Research and Innovation in Sustainability. York University
The purpose of this
installation is to encourage discussion about the consequences IPP's
pose and the urgency for an appropriate regional strategy.
Brent Bukowski
IMAGE
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Funded by the
Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance/ Columbia Basin Trust
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