RAWNIE PARSONS-LOCK
Flowing
Fingerprints
Inspired by environmental philosopher Glenn Albrecht and his concept of the Symbiocene (a future era in which humans, nature, and technology coexist in harmony) I began a collaboration with water. I developed an instrument that translates the movements of water into drawings. I started this project by investigating the movement of the water in the Grevelingenmeer (Zeeland, NL). During this process I learnt more about the history of this body of water and its state at the moment. The Grevelingenmeer was Cut off from the ocean when the Delta works where built in 1965, since then this body of water has slowly been dying. This project visualises the waters fragile state and our relationship with it. These works and this project in general is a reflection on our relationship with nature at the moment.
The Glass Collection
This project and concept led me to glass. Glass has the unique potential to communicate both visually and audibly. It captures light, produces sound, and is at the same time a sustainable and environmentally friendly material. Its qualities reinforce my concept, symbolizing the delicate balance between humanity and nature, while giving form to the invisible movements of water in a tangible and lasting way.
If we could hear you
A text written from the perspective of the Grevelingenmeer.
​
My fingers wrap around your ankles
I trace the stories etched into your soles
Sometimes you and I are one
My cool embrace strokes the hairs on your neck
You sit above me, dangling your feet
I reach up to pull you closer
We play, you push and I pull
You see not, that
I am bound by you
Do you even see me?
Do you remember who I used to be?
The vessels my veins would guide
The fury I once could show
I was free to dance, high and low
Not aware of my strength,
I came to visit you one night
It was a tragedy born not of malice, but of warning
You did not listen, you sealed me off
You silenced me
My identity forced to change
Without my souls breath, I wither away
My spirit fading
All life I bring, dying silently
The paintings
The paintings that arose from this collaboration with the Grevelingenmeer are more colourful than my other paintings. They show the fluid nature of water and the hope for life that I hope will return to this specific body of water and many alike. I used unprepared linnen, made my own egg tempera paint and used a tiny bit of oil stick for a vibrant touch.
Ceramic work
The soft touch of the water and its fragile lines now set in stone forever. Fossilising a fleeting moment never to occur exactly the same again. Some of the ceramic works a small and made from one piece of clay. And others are broken into pieces, like a puzzle.These works are only complete once it has been installed. The water draws the lines, the artist made them tangible and the person who hangs them up determines the final placement. In this way the work remains adaptable, able to respond organically to the space it inhabits. These interactions reflect how we shape and control nature, bending it to fit "our" environments. Simuetainously, the work invites us to consider new ways to listen to nature as the work itself was written by the water.
