Transition
‘A Belly-Full of Only Rain’
Exhibition, 2011
Hannah Maclure Centre, Dundee
The mixed media installation Transition aims to stimulate thoughts about the future of the underground streams in Dundee and their value to the community. It presents an idea in which people from different sectors work together to restore a hidden water source to its natural open condition. The work is featured in a joint exhibition by artist Fanny Lam Christie collaborating with poet Dawn Wood.
In Dundee, below the Dichty Water – the ‘back bone’ of Dundee’s watercourses – the main streams in the city such as Gelly Burn, Dens Burn, Scouring Burn and Lochee Burn have been covered as a result of past industrial activities. The water from most of these burns was diverted long ago with lades and sluice gates to provide a water source for the steam engines and cooling plants of the textile and jute mills. The mills are now all gone but the streams remain beneath the city structure. How much do residents appreciate these burns, the part they have played in the history of the city and what part they may play in its future?
Transition
drawing, pewter, water, steam and slates The title comes from ‘Transition Management’ in the publication SWITCH by Chris Jefferies and Alison Duffy. It refers to a strategy where urban water systems are evaluated to influence a long-term sustainable vision for urban water management.
Transition
Cupped hands suggest integrating efforts from many sectors. The broken slates symbolize the uncovering of a hidden stream with steam being emitted through the slates by a hidden vaporizer. Smaller slate fragments downstream depict the running water.
Dragon
drawing. The Dundee watercourses and the footprint of their flood plains form the outline of a dragon head. The grey lines depict the 4 main hidden streams: (clockwise from top) Gelly Burn, Dens Burn, Scouring Burn and Lochee Burn.