Catherine Forster

home | video | installations | prints and drawings | new projects | bio | news | contact | LiveBox

 

50,000 Gallons

Sound installation for Exit Art "The Drop", NY April 2006

click to hear a sample I was very excited and moved by the exhibition topic "The Drop". For its April show, Exit Art is focusing on the global water crisis, both political and environmental. I pondered the subject for months and created numerous proposals. It was a difficult task; how to explore a subject that is both heatedly discussed and ignored in every corner of the globe? I decided to focus close to home, examining my own participation in this emerging crisis.

I live in a household of 3. I pay no attention to the water I consume; yet I am aware that I use it as if it will always be there in abundance. I’m not in denial, I simply don’t pay any attention to water usage. I was shocked to discover that we used 52,000 gallons of water between January and May of 2005. I decided to document the entire use of water for my household in a 24-hour period. The project, “52,000 Gallons”, is a sound piece. It begins at 7 minutes past midnight and ends at 10:42 PM on February 26th 2006. A total of 8 hours, 15 minutes and 46 seconds of water usage was recorded. The exhibit includes a 45 minute sampling of the 8+ hours of water employment.

The sound of water is normally recorded to sooth; mood music deploys water sounds; small end table sized fountains are available for our homes; alarm clocks can put us to sleep and wake us with the sound of trickling water. By contrast, in “52,000 Gallons”, water sounds are harsh and abusive. The sound records snippets of family live and water as labor and waste. The mood is ambivalent.