Ecoart and Science Lecture: Reading the River, Basia Irland

Last Thursday I finally attended one of the Eco Science + Art Lectures, "Reading the River." Basia Irland is a University of New Mexico professor, artist, poet, sculptor, author, and activist working on water quality projects around the world.

A number of her projects stood out to me, one of them being the "Desert Fountain" project in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Made of copper replicas of her own hands, this fountain captures water within a rainwater collection unit and returns it to the water table. I like that she took into consideration the area's susceptibility to drought and chose not to waste water by pulling from the nearby depleted water sources. This piece reminds me of the "Urban Rain" installation in San Jose, CA by eco artist Jackie Brookner in which rain water is directed onto a stainless steel "Thumbprint filter" sculpture. Both pieces use the human hand as the receiving end of the water before it returns to the earth. This is an interesting concept because it seems that water is almost always affected by human touch, whether through runoff, point source pollution, acid rain, etc.

Irland's "Desert Fountain"

Brookner's "Urban Rain"

I also loved her Contemplation Centers. I could imagine one of these setting on the edge of one of the ponds in winter/fall for observing waterfowl behaviors and just listening to what's going on around. They also remind me of thrones made of grass! Eye-catching and interesting, they seem to just invite people to sit down and observe the natural world around them, whether they are on a nature awareness level of one or ten. Though as she mentioned her ideal setting would be outside, I loved the space she created with her museum installation (Museum De Domijnen, Netherlands?) involving an indoor reflection pool and floating salt boats with their shadows. It created a surreal setting, almost as if you yourself were at the bottom of a river looking up at the boats floating on the surface.

Irland's "Contemplation Stations"

Additionally, I read one of her National Geographic blog posts in which she writes a narrative in the perceptive of various rivers around the world. This particular one was the Siem Reap River in Cambodia. After reading it, I learned a lot about the history of Cambodia that I was not aware of. The idea of personifying the rivers with speech helps people to connect with nature in a way they may not have thought of before. Her blog narratives remind me of the short film series that are narrated as if in the perspective of various aspects of planet Earth (the ocean, soil, air, etc.).