Waters Past and Water Futures

Walking tour and map exploring Collect Pond and relationships between water and financial speculation, 2017

A public walk  was given as part of the Works on Water 2017 exhibition Field Works projects

A poster and fabric pond “visualization” were shown as part of the exhibition Shifting Landscapes at Washington State University. The exhibition grew from a Signal Fire residency during the Unwalking the West theme year. Exhibition info PDF

This walk and map centered on the former Collect Pond in Lower Manhattan traces edges of a lost body of water while unpacking histories and futures tying water to finance and speculation, from Collect Pond to Hurricane Sandy and beyond.

Since Europeans arrived in Lower Manhattan, water has been a contentious commodity and continues to be a flashpoint for struggles between private enterprise and human rights. Collect Pond, a 48-acre, 60- foot deep freshwater pond, used to occupy the land from the court houses to the edge of Chinatown in Lower Manhattan until it became polluted and then filled in. Chase Company, founded by Aaron Burr, was a private water distribution company that hoarded profits meant to provide clean water from tributaries feeding Collect Pond and used those funds to start Chase Bank. The walk and map are intended to spark a dialog about topics such as the concept of “liquidity” and the logic of resource extraction vs. a stewardship of the commons.