This work discusses the environmental issues of water pollution and the lack of water through imagery of the Cuyahoga River, the water system, and reservoirs around the Cleveland area.
The project includes four separate sections. First, is a short video documenting the journey of a paper boat down the Cuyahoga River, from the Cuyahoga Valley to Lake Erie. The use of paper symbolizes fragility, strength and change. The boat moves forward, backwards, turns and capsizes on its way to the Lake and this is much like life itself; sometimes things go well for us but often there are difficulties, obstacles and surprises along the way that we can choose to overcome or not.
The second and third sections contain a book and still images of the Cuyahoga River and its tributaries. The digital book has images from my handmade accordion book. In the accordion book, the pages are physically connected together and describe the journey of the paper boat. The still images include the larger water system and reservoirs in the greater Cleveland area. Examples of pollution and lack of water can be seen in the photographs of a drainage pipe and the ones showing a low water level.
The fourth section is an experimental survey & research piece about making choices.
The viewer is first asked to make a choice between taking a cup of water either in a plastic or paper container or to choose not to take the survey at all.
The viewer is then asked how they moved through the website. What navigational choices did they make? What did they view first, second etc.? Each viewer’s experience will be different based on the choices they made. My goal is to see the choices that people make, and if knowledge of the choices made by others influence decisions due to the need to fit into a social group.
Through the depiction of water in these various ways, I hope to create an awareness of the fact that even the simplest environmental choices we make can make a difference.