A competition for water element statue for Dominikánské náměstí square and by the Church of Saint Michael the Archangel in Brno
2020
How much are we touched by climatic catastrophes that happen elsewhere? And what would it be like to have a desert in the middle of our cities?
A design of water element sculptures is a nonverbal form of these questions for Dominikánské náměstí square and by the Church of Saint Michael the Archangel in Brno.
Tangible absence of water makes this so obvious liquid very special and makes us pay more attention to it. The object on the square quite intentionally misses water. The sandstone blocks covering the space between sycamores are in the form of sand dunes. The trees create a feeling of an oasis in the desert but without the possibility to refresh oneself. Their names remind us of the possibility – for us just academic – that the shadow they are casting will not be there forever: Thirst, Drought, Crop failure and Death.
The composition is dominated by a central object – a circling vulture as a symbol of dryness, a bird that is among the few who can survive in the hostile conditions and the dying life is its nourishment. It is bound, attached to a stick, and taught to circle forever.
Object number 2 at the Saint Michael Church is a tank for water. The same one as we see at water accidents, in refugee camps or in places where there is water missing. Mostly it is a temporary condition, an emergency. In some cases this time can be longer, it may be chronic, and then the water tank becomes a persistent object and also offers possibility to find friendship with other residents. In this case it is an emotion simulator, a notion that the city council brought us some water and gave us a single source. In the water tank there is a misting system for summer months and for giving the feeling that it is really the only source of water in the heat of the summer. The water tank is static, performing a sculpture.
