Acknowledging the Past- A Review on FOUNTAIN: THE SOURCE OR ORIGIN OF ANYTHING
FOUNTAIN: THE SOURCE OR ORIGIN OF ANYTHING(Fountain) is an offsite exhibition that one cannot miss while passing by CBC plaza in central Vancouver. It is a photograph which takes up the entire wall, an analogue image of a small industrial dock under a bridge. According to the description below the photograph, Fountain is organized by an interdisciplinary artist Laiwan and curated by Joni Lo. The photograph is a screenshot of the film ‘Summer Afternoon’ produced in 1956, projecting the former landscape of false creek which is currently a land (Lo,1). This project acknowledges the importance of realizing the past. The significant fact is that this exhibition parallels with an interactive web project which makes the transmission possible. As a combined project, Fountain gives the viewer a higher level of understanding the past.
Fountain is somewhat vague upon viewed at a glance. The title above, hydrologic marsh/ lotic&lentic&fen is also quite ambiguous to interpret. However, the quote below the title, ‘Mystery beneath our walk’ acts as a key; the vagueness is to cover what is beneath and emphasize when it uncovers. According to the B.C. Glossary of Water Quality Terms webpage, these titles are all vocabularies indicating fluidity and static or flowing water cycle; It includes ponds, rivers and ocean. Similarly to the title designated above, the project itself cannot be understood completely by observing the exhibition. When the viewer connects the exhibition with an online experience, one may perceive a sensation of acknowledgement.
Through an online space, the project communicates with the viewer by providing multiple references and encourages “crowd-sourced contribution”(Lo,3). For example, from so-called sources for conversation such as “Bruce Macdonald speaks about Keefer & Columbia streets in Chinatown”, the viewer learns that Chinatown area was a waterfront property. Instagram, which works as an archive of photos of hidden fluidity and web pages which share ideas are some of the contributions. These transmission of ideas makes the viewer not to remain in a passive position but to become an active participant. They can share thus expand their knowledge by communicating online with conversations.
To summarize, Fountain is to realize the past and share that acknowledgement with others. It offers the viewer to contemplate the past of Vancouver through a dual means of offsite exhibition and online conversation. Appreciating the photograph itself and transmitting conversations to an online space will provide the viewer a larger sense of acknowledgement. One will naturally find themselves solving the mystery beneath our walk by these combined experiences. The experience of viewing the Fountain will make the viewer better understand and respect the current land that one stands on today.
– Min Hee Kim
Works Cited
“B.C. Glossary of Water Quality Terms.” Ministry of Environment. Province of British Columbia., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
Laiwanette. “Bruce Macdonald speaks about Keefer & Columbia streets in Chinatown.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 14 Feb. 2014. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
Lo, Joni. “Curatorial Essay”, Laiwanette., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2015