(A river, an archive. The berlin Spree)
stories on the river Spree. 2022
The artist Marcela Moraga lives in Moabit, Berlin. During her walks along the banks of the Spree, she reflects on the state of the river and what happens under the surface of the water. In the course of her research the artist repeatedly finds herself confronted with the word Wasserstraße, a way of defining a river in German governmental texts, in English it is translated as waterway. In conversations with Berlin citizens and associations, Marcela Moraga realizes that for them the river Spree is a mere Wasserstraße where boats, rafts and sightseeing cruises navigate, but few people know that life develops there.
Between fiction and reality the artist tells in her publication
A River, an Archive different stories of the river Spree related to the growth and tragedies of the city of Berlin. For example the history of the Barbel, a fish that inhabited the Spree River until the time of the industrial revolution, at that time a series of dams were built in the river and the canal system of the city of Berlin. This series of installations caused the Barbel fish to disappear from the Spree waters. The archive also tells the story of the Zebra Mussels that caused the reconfiguration of the river’s ecosystem and the magnet fishermen, who uncover the industrial landscapes hidden at the bottom of the river.
A River, an Archive. The Berlin Spree is a fanzine that includes texts as well as drawings and photographs by the artist. This was produced as part of the Crossings project curated by Chiara Figone and Paz Guevara. A collaboration between Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) and Archive Sites 2022.
Drawings: ink, water of the Spree river and various pencils
Photos: motorcycle and bullets „ fished“ from the Spree by the Magnet Fishing Association in Berlin.
to view the publication file (in German only)