Exhibition Hydromedia @ Technische Sammlungen Dresden
Twelve artists have focused on water and used photographic and acoustic processes to create new perspectives and a new proximity to questions of ecology and climatechange. For the works shown in the exhibition Hydromedia – Seeing With Water, they use the existential element of water as a source of inspiration and a flowing medium and deal with the perpetual but very sensitive water cycle, the (endangered) diversity of life in bodies of water and at theirborders, and the not always peaceful coexistence of water and humans.
By using water as both a source of inspiration and as a medium to work with, Hydromedia: Seeing with Water invites us to rethink our relationship to this crucial element for life on earth. How can the artistic imagination entice us to witness and experience water from the inside, instead of seeing it from the outside like classical documentary or photojournalism? For the works in this exhibition the artists worked together with water in multiple ways, so to let it speak from its own capricious depths. The methods of alternative (recording) procedures employed here may sensitize us for more open and ambiguous relationships between human and non-human entities.
The artworks were developed in 2023 and 2024 duringthree site-specific work phases. As hosts, the Royal Academyof Fine Arts in Antwerp, the Utrecht University of theArts and the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design havenot only organized the artist residencies, but also symposia,excursions, workshops, local exhibitions and initiated an intensive exchange between the art world, science andthe public. All three locations and all twelve artists now are coming together for the first time in the Technological Collections.
With works by: Mirja Busch, Alexandra Crouwers, Tim Theo Deceuninck, Sascha Herrmann, Mariko Hori, Arja Hop & Peter Svenson, Jarek Lustych, Jiajia Qi, Alina Schmuch, Sanne Vaassen, Meng-Chan Yu and Luiz Zanotello.
A publication with texts and numerous illustrations will accompany the exhibition.
