TAUBE (en. PIGEON / DEAF)
Due to the urban development, the river Neckar in Esslingen is embedded into the urban scene and flows through artificial canals like veins in the historical city center. I got inspired by this special situation showing the diversity of the architecture surrounding the water. Also the fact, that most of the cultural institutions of Esslingen are located close to the canals prompted me to create this work.
It is a video performance, in which a person wearing a wet suit is crouching in a one man raft. The performer cannot be identified as a proper diver, because of their manipulated equipment (e.g. the diving fins are worn on the arms and goggles are not suitable for diving). The colors of the costume suggest a visual similarity to a bird, like a pigeon. During the trip there were hand signs given, which mimics divers signals or sign language and were depicting the emotion of the performer. In some parts, the original city sounds were used and were edited to follow the hand signs. Due to the angle used for the camera, most of the footage has been taken from a lower perspective (like the point of view of the waterbirds). The camera is capturing both: the surroundings oft he canals and the figure reacting to them. Depending on the depth of the canal the movement of the raft changed. Some parts were dangerous because of the floodgates, other parts didn’t have enough current to move forward, which caused comical/amusing situations.
The trip evolving the central path in the video performance could be understood as a metaphor for city-diving, immersing oneself into the surrounding.
The artist assumed the role of the performer. The question arose: how do we assimilate to our surroundings and how do they adapt to us? The city birds (ducks, pigeons, swans), that co-existance could also be seen in the video, are keeping their urban territiories. Not being able to change the role with other species, the artist immerses themself into birds' point of view, taking the bird perspective not only through the lens of electronic devices, but also in a physical way. The viewer is allowed to do both: following the performer and seeing the sights of the town, documented in the video.
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Zu sehen ist eine Bootsfahrt durch die Neckarkanäle in Esslingen, auch an Kulturinstitutionen wie Komma und Villa Merkel vorbei. Auf dem Schlauchboot befindet sich eine Figur im Neoprenanzug, die nicht eindeutig mit einem Taucher identifizierbar ist. In ihrer Bewegungsart und ihrer Handlung weicht sie vom gewohnten Bild eines Tauchers ab. Sie ähnelt in diesen Punkten und in der Farbigkeit der Verkleidung einem Vogel, etwa eine Taube. Es handelt sich um die Metapher des Stadttauchens.
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TIME – SPACE – EXISTENCE
While watching at the canals in the cities, would you ever believe, that the rivers were here first, not the cities?
I grew up in Kaunas, Lithuania, a town situated at a junction the two biggest rivers of the country - Nemunas and Neris. From the two I have always preferred Nemunas. Depending on a season, this river seemed to reflect different colours of the sky, while the colour of the water itself remained unchanged. I actually am generally afraid of water.
Why are the river banks fortified? Whom are they protecting from the river? Is that the City or its inhabitants?
I often try to imagine those landscapes in their pre-urban state.
Why do rivers never form a crosspoint? They always meet at a junction where one rivers ends, loosing its name, and becomes part of the another river. Then, eventually, their united waters meet the sea.
Due to urban developments, most of the rivers like Neckar in Esslingen, in Germany where my performance took place in 2015, are embedded into an urban scene and flows through artificial canals like veins in historical cities.
The journey plays the central part in the video performance and could be understood as a metaphor for city-diving, immersing oneself into the surrounding.
How do we blend into our surroundings and how do our surroundings adjust to us/our needs?
Patricija Gilyte, 2017
In this video performance a person wearing a wet suit is crouching in a one man's raft. The performer cannot be identified as a professional diver because of the displaced equipment. The diving fins are worn on the arms and goggles are not suitable for diving. The colours of the costume suggest a visual similarity to a bird - a pigeon. The signs given by hand during the raft mimic diver's signals and are depicting the emotion of the performer. In some parts, the original city sounds are edited in accordance with those hand signs. Most of the footage is captured using low camera angle, as if it was a waterbird's point of view. The camera is capturing both: the surroundings of the canals and the figure approaching them. The movement of the raft is changing depending on the depth of the canal. Some parts are dangerous because of the floodgates, others don’t have enough current to move the raft forward and caused comical situations.
The co-existance of the city birds (ducks, pigeons, swans) is also captured in the video as they maintain their urban territories. The artist's point of view merges with the birds' point of view through a metaphor, choice of the camera angle and lens. The viewer is invited to engage in both: following the performer on her raft and witnessing the sights of the town, documented in the video.
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