Aqua Alta by China Blue :: An exhibition within OPEN X1 International Exhibition of Sculptures and Installations :: Curated by EDWARD RUBIN :: 27 August to 28 September :: 2008 San Servolo Island, Venice, Italy.

China Blue will participate in the eleventh edition of OPEN, the international exhibition of sculptures and installations held yearly at the Lido and in San Servolo, Venice, Italy. China Blue is an internationally exhibiting artist who creates sound based installations.

Aqua Alta is an immersive sound experience created using specialized audio equipment to capture the unique sounds of the waters of Venice via the gondolas that glide through them. This work was inspired by the effects global warming have on the environment, both underwater and above.

The sound of Venice is water. Every minute of every day and every night the sound of water is splashing on the stairs, lapping at the doorways and rising in waves as gondolas breeze across it. From the founding of Venice, to the present day, water is the source of transportation, a symbol of romance and the element that made Venice a major maritime power and a significant trading port. Water is also its problem. Global-warming has induced changes to the aquatic environment causing the waters to swell filling the piazzas and buildings and threatening the daily life and culture of Venice.

The sound installation Aqua Alta is a study of Venice’s dependence on and the threat of water. Aqua Alta submerges the listener in the sounds and the effect of the water of Venice. What is heard are the sounds from the water’s edge and underwater recordings, the structural creaks of the gondolas and sounds of water flowing around and under them as they float through the lagoon. Splashes and deep wave sounds of the gondola’s oar as it pushes the boat through the water, and the sounds of the sea life are also heard mixed with the above water search for a radio station that randomly captures songs about the ecology and water. The slow envelopment of the sounds in air of the aquatic acoustics as the waters rise become a metaphor for the dangers to Venice of global-warming induced changes to the aquatic environment.

Conceived and curated by Paolo De Grandis, co-curated by Carlotta Scarpa and held in collaboration with the Department of Culture of the Venice City Council, OPEN X1 exhibits about fifty works among sculptures, painting and environmental installations, situated outdoors, in the unique setting of Venice Lido during the Venice Film Festival.

The Island of San Servolo is a few minutes by boat from the Lido.

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