The voice and field recordings bring us into contact with a slippery journey through underground pipes old and new, precarious river living, court battles, hope and uncertainty. 

This sound piece is part of an ongoing series of site specific actions with river, enacted by artist duo Blanc Sceol (Stephen Shiell & Hannah White) since, and in connection with, their part in the establishment of moorings and conservation cooperative ‘Surge Coop’ in 2018.

Surge Cooperative is a collaborative effort to benevolently occupy the Channelsea river in London, as a place for people to live on the water, and a way to acknowledge the living systems that are already present. 

Our research as artists within and without this cooperative seeks to live with, listen with and act with this vital system, finding new ways to tackle problems of neglect and misuse whilst navigating ancient acts of parliament and institutional backwaters to advocate on behalf of this waterway.

Our regular meetings with river are invitations to ourselves and others to gather, listen, observe and learn through a variety of containers, from workshops to walks, reading groups, deep listening, live transmissions and collaborations. These actions and activities become a sustaining stream that encourages us to flow as a river, attempting to connect bodies and organisations across geographical, social and political boundaries. We propose common actions with those connected to river or local to the area, encouraging collective efforts to listen with and celebrate its rich landscape. Through each of these actions our attempts to understand and support river grow and change as we uncover more about the forces at work, both within and without.