Flow

THE MEDLEY

Theme

Flow

Encompassing water and wind, fluids are the most basic elements of Earth. They embody the flow of invisible energies, and visualise the fluidity of form. Water is the origin of life, the source of all civilisations. But water during storm and floods is also merciless in causing devastations. Flow is the manifestation of natural powers, what is revered by all cultures.

The dynamic expression of the reflections of light is always transient and can only be poetically described. To acutely observe their constantly varying forms is to capture the essence of the present. To be completely absorbed into the presence of the fluidity of flows, the filling up of volumes directs us to the phenomenological experience our existence, the intangible experience of the passage of time.

Transience, the very essence of any time-based art, can only be partially captured through the subjective lens of the archiver. Landscapes sculpted by water are the only traces of Nature’s work. The most dramatic, and yet the most subdued.

Concept

The Medley

At times gentle and serene,

Other times, turbulent and tumultuous,

Water flows perpetual and pure,

Waves embrace the stones, wind whiffs past the leaves;

Ascending and ebbing the water carries on,

The ripples carved by the falling leaf,

The rhythm of the rolling water,

The Beauty knows no bounds…

Seconds, minutes, hours, days

How time flies?

The leaf wanes into shrivelled yellow,

The water washes away all,

The wind howls in a different course,

Ephemeral but everlasting,

Together the wind, water, time

Perform the symphony of life

Our work is an attempt to catch people’s attention to the beauty of the streamside and consequently enhance their appreciation and respect towards nature.

Our idea touches several dimensions of dynamics – wind, water and time;

And was expressed with intuitiveness – amplifying what we could sense, highlighting what was not so apparent.

We aim to demonstrate this by spotlighting the different types of flow in water and the fusion created by the interaction of wind and water flow. The desired kinematics was achieved with the help of leaves, bamboo, petals, climbers, rocks and stones.

There is more behind the snake-like trajectory created by rocks than being a mere show of eye-catching visual design. Each region exclusively demonstrates a type of water flow. As the water trickles down carrying with it leaves and sticks, one can see the static, turbulent and whirlpool motion of the water. By throwing different materials and watching them dance to the beat of water, each interacting in its own way, there is nothing short of a feeling of elevation and amazement at the work of nature. To add to the visual beauty and impart a feeling of poise, the snake pattern of stones is covered with white petals. Eventually with time, the petals, aided by the wind, flow into the water and disappear into it. Time flies, things are transient so it’s best to appreciate them while they last. At the end of the rock pattern the screen of climbers with pebbles hanging at the bottom look like mini pendulums.  Some swinging in the wind, some oscillating with the water force, clashing against each other, they put up a performance created by the interaction of wind and water.

This medley of flow heightens the visual, aural and sensory pleasures and hopefully makes the audience more perceptive of nature and conscious of their ecological footprint on the environment.