As I re-joined Centrum w Ruchu, I had a pleasure to edit the material filmed and create a soundtrack to it, for the video commission by Contemporary Art Museum in Warsaw.
Bodies of Water by Department of Presence at the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw
In the beginning, there was water. An idea to speak about the relation between homo sapiens and water through perfromance. To draw attention to draughts, rapid desertification of our world and gigantic fires consuming arid areas around the globe. To remind that the shrinking supplies of water are crucial not only for humans but also for any kind of life on earth and that understanding the role of water in the ecosystem and protecting it is one of our most important responsibilities. To show that we are all, humans and non-humans, related to water, that water is what connects all of the living organisms. That we are bodies of water.
“Bodies of Water” is a series of activities realized for the Department of Presence at the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw by Centrum w Ruchu, Grupa Ruchoma and Mszak collectives as well as members of the Extinction Rebellion social movement. Our original idea was to present them to you live during a special event dedicated to water and climate catastrophe. The performative evening was also supposed to be a fundraiser for climate justice movements. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic thwarted our plans – due to safety reasons we still cannot invite you to join us for a live event.
While still waiting for an opportunity to organize the live event we asked the artists to prepare interpretations of planned performances in the form of short video clips that we share with you online. The video performances touch on issues such as the water crisis, relation between humans and water ecosystems and art created in the shade of climate catastrophe.
Centrum w Ruchu documented their actions performed by the Rawka river.
There is a specific reason why we publish the videos from the “Bodies of Water” series at this moment. On Friday September 25th in many cities around the world climate justice demonstrations organized by the global Fridays For Future movement will take place. By sharing the works created by artists we want to express our solidarity with climate activists who actively fight for the survival of life on the planet.
Aleks Borys 