Requiem for a River

The promise of hydroelectric power as a renewable and cost-efficient resource obscures the loopholes within the Mekong River's international water management policies. Through a performative installation, Emmie Massias reveals the geopolitical dominance of the hydropower dam as a border of conquest and control over shared water resources. The project invites the audience to participate in the process of ceramic slip-casting to reflect on, record and embody the imperial attitude of the dam. With a system of individual modular moulds allowing multiple configurations to form a collection of vessels and water pitchers, the performance reveals the dam’s effects on altering the precarious landscapes and native populations of the Mekong Delta.