Die Fluten

Su Yu Hsin, Die Fluten, 2023, Object © Su Yu Hsin

Postcard depicting the “hunger stone” in the River Elbe at Těchlovice, Czech Republic. The basalt stone, visible only during periods of extreme low water, bears inscriptions of years marking historic droughts © Jodi Le Bigre 

The hygrograph, the finely calibrated tool used by the conservator to monitor atmospheric conditions in the museum recorded the tightly controlled climate in real time. In contrast to the climate outside of the museum which is changing constantly, the artificial climate inside the museum has been regulated in stable condition and avoided drastic fluctuations. If we understand that conservation is the management of change, what can River Elbe tell us about the culture in crisis with the near-future impacts of climate change? The artist speculates on the water level data of the River Elbe on the instrument by transposing the inscriptions from the hunger stone. The hygrograph becomes a portal to connect to the water body that flows around and underneath the museums, at the same time as a speculative site of a possible future.

Opening of the exhibition “We show what we (don’t) know” of the HGB Leipzig on 12.10.2023 at the Japanisches Palais of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. Photo: Oliver Killig

Su Yu Hsin is a Berlin-based artist and filmmaker. Her artistic practice is strongly research-oriented, frequently involving fieldwork. Her works reflect technology, ecology and critical infrastructure challenging the intersection of the human and the non-human. Su Yu Hsin’s analytical and hydropoetic storytelling focuses on map-making, operational photography and the technical production of geographical knowledge. Her works are exhibited worldwide