Submergency – open water is a public place?
Date uploaded: July 11, 2012
Submergency – open water is a public place?
As part of the Immersion series of work which aims to engage people with water environments, Submergency kicked off on Sunday the 17th of June when a beauty spot on Dartmoor was turned into a ‘pop-up lido’ for a group of Devon’s hardy wild swimmers - it marked the launch of a new automatic and portable lifeguard’s chair for use by rivers and seas. Made of steel and aluminium the chair marks a turning point in self-surveillance and safety equipment for those that love their outdoors wet. Helpfully the chair narrowcasts safety information and relaxing whale song to pool side loungers through a localised FM transmitter. People interested in commissioning one should contact ruralrecreation.
About seventy people took part, setting up chairs and towels around the ‘pool’, swimming, picnicking and listening to helpful information on swimming techniques, flood prevention and even the spiralling trill of the Bearded Seal to people on the radio. The underwater sounds connect the remote and mysterious Crazywell Pool to the sea miles away at Plymouth (legends have it that the waters of the pool rise and fall with the tides).
The project is a tribute to the hundreds of thousands of people in Devon returning to ‘wild water’ as swimming pools are threatened by austerity measures. The project also aims to get more people interested in conserving marine and river wildlife.
The chair was also on show to the public in the grounds of Dartington Hall, Totnes during the Aune Head Arts conference "The Home and the World" conference from 19th-21st of June 2012 – full details are available here http://www.auneheadarts.net/conference2012/.
Click here for project details including short documentary video and a link to BBC coverage.
