Confluence
Confluence is a site responsive curatorial project by Tsering Frykman-Glen.
A confluence is where waters from two or more sources come together. This mixing of moving bodies can alter pace, energy, and chemistry. This place where liquids and sediments gather, mingle, and flow on, is a transitional in-between space. It is here where elements converge, intersect, and negotiate. Cross-fertilising and emerging as something new and of its own, yet always connected to its source. Unstable and fluctuating, it is a place filled with uncertainty but also filled with endless possibilities.
The first in this series of site responsive projects was Endezo by Patricia Encarnación in CasCaDas Artspace, Barcelona in October/November 2023. The second was Squeezed, a one night performance by sound artists Les Biologistes Marins. It was the closing event of the Reading Room in Tangent Project gallery on October 18th 2024.
Endezo - Patricia Encarnación - Within the context of this art project, the window at CasCaDas Artspace represented the point of confluence where the artspace (located behind it) and the street (situated in front of it) come together. This is also reflected in the project, the artist and their work, and the physical space itself.
Endezo - Patricia Encarnación, CasCaDas Artspace, Barcelona, October/November 2023. Photos courtesy of Tanya Zommer.
"In Haitian Kreyòl, "to live between two waters" is one word, Endezo, and I find that beautiful.
The Scholar Jerry Philogene expressed "living in endezo - that in-between space, the hyphen, the space of negotiation."
Does the diaspora exist on the other side of the hyphen? Or is the hyphen itself?
The motherland is on the other side of the sentence, regardless of the diaspora positionally.
Will I always be living in Endezo?
The in-between waters feel shallower with time.” - Patricia Encarnación
Endezo represents the idea of "living between two waters" encapsulated in a single word, which conveys a sense of beauty and complexity. Scholar Jerry Philogene has articulated the significance of "living in endezo" as the experience of occupying an "in-between space," analogous to a hyphen, wherein negotiations take place. One could question whether the diaspora is situated on the other side of the hyphen or if the hyphen itself embodies the in-between space. Irrespective of the diaspora's positional location, the motherland exists on the other side of the sentence, emphasising its distinctness from the in-between space.
This concept of "Endezo" in Haitian Kreyòl and the notion of an in-between space offer valuable insights into the experiences of the diaspora, shedding light on the complexities and negotiations involved in navigating multiple cultural and societal contexts.
The second Confluence project, Squeezed is an audio-visual performance reading highlighting the development of the Llobregat River Delta, by Les Biologistes Marins (Beatrice Miniaci & Anton Sconosciuto)
Squeezed - Les Biologistes Marins, Tangent Projects (Barcelona) in October 2024.
The performance was the culmination of a residency at Tangent Projects studios. The artists produced an audio-visual performance reading highlighting the development around the Llobregat River Delta.
In recent decades, the continuous expansion of Barcelona port and El Prat airport has forced the river into increasingly confined spaces, diverting its course and compressing a crucial area for water, natural habitats, and biodiversity into a shrinking fragment of land, now overwhelmed by unprecedented levels of noise and pollution.
The final result was an extreme use of field recordings, creating an obscure atmosphere inside the gallery—almost like a noise chamber that could leave visitors confused or irritated by the constant sound of planes landing. In addition to the sound, the duo created the visual part of the installation by projecting images on both sides of the room: one side displayed footage of El Prat airport, while the other showed videos from the Barcelona Port.