ImpossibleImprobable Docklands - 'Under'

Interface with the water

My initial response to Docklands was sparked on the first day when a group of us were heading off to lunch. We noticed a wake moving across the surface of the water. As it came closer we realized that it was a fish, perhaps a Port Jackson shark. It continued until it came near the Dock on which we were standing then turned around swimming near the surface for a short while until it went deeper.

The water at Docklands while the key feature is kept at a distance. There is no place to meet the water, to dip in your toes. There are spaces provided for ‘water enthusiasts’ at the marinas and the moored boats for hire. The issue of how to physically connect with the water at Docklands led me to ImpossibleImprobable interactive concepts.

Using a greywater laundry diverter hose I experimented with blowing into the water. This created patterns successfully, but would need the end of the pipe weighted to be stronger visually. In the end I also tried listening to the tube as you would a shell at the beach. Faint sounds were produced similar to those that can be heard when a human stomach or intestines are active.

This developed through discussion into the piece ‘Under.’ The greywater tube was suspended through an existing hole in the cement floor of the dock. The sound was amplified using equipment designed to pick up birdcalls and had a set of headphones attached. The sounds that could be heard were the lapping of the water against the piers and the pipe echoing. At times such as the opening night the ambient sounds from the people above mixed with and at times dominated the sound emerging from below.

The piece reflects the difficulty of connecting with the water as even while walking on a dock the building is such a solid structure it is a struggled to reconcile one experience with the other. That you are physically walking above water.