It is the year 2001.Men
are still setting eel traps and trawling the riverbed as
they have done for hundreds of years. People are crossing
the river on the Woolwich Ferry. The Thames barrier rises
and sinks to protect London from possible floods. Water
laps the banks. Boats sail the river, their wash hisses
along the shingle. Foghorns boom, piers creak, barge sails
flap. Shipyards clang distantly and iron buoys strain against
the tide. People work and play along the river or its shores-
mudlarks squelch, tour guides blare from their boats. And
the river is rich in wildlife - Canvey Island seals bark,
Shelduck cry on the Isle Of Sheppey, and the heronary on
Grain goes through another breeding season. All of these
threads, and many more, have been captured and woven into
a sound scape and short film about the River Thames, made
by site specific sonic artist, Lee Berwick.
OLD
FATHER THAMES by Lee Francis,
Feb.2001
Your treasure my trove
OFT in my hand
Your surface my mirror OFT in my gaze
Your company my refuge OFT at my side
Your past my fascination OFT in my thoughts
Your tides my measure OFT through the year
Your depths my unrest OFT in my dreams
Your path my pilgrimage OFT at my feet
"YATRA
, A SHORT WALK TO THE SOURCE"
In 1998 Lee Berwick
had the idea to record the sounds of the River Thames throughout
the last year of the millennium, and to present them in
2000 as a historical glimpse of this great river. Lee then
contacted "The Museum Of", an organisation that had been
running a series of temporary museums on London's Southbank,
after hearing that their next exhibition was to be about
The River Thames. During discussions with them, Lee mentioned
that he had a boyhood dream to walk to the source of the
Thames. This admission eventually resulted in the museum
commissioning the piece "Yatra, a short walk to the source".
A Yatra is a pilgrimage made by the holymen of India to
the source of a river, often to that most sacred of waterways,
The Ganges. So, after some planning and sponsorship, Lee
decided to undertake the walk of 175 miles from Tower Bridge
to the source of The Thames, between Swindon and Cirencester.
In January 2001 he set out with a digital camera and the
intention of filming in both directions from each of the
130 bridges that spanned the river. He then edited the footage
into a short film accompanied by a soundtrack made entirely
from the sounds he had recorded of the river the previous
year,along with a few collected on the walk. This film is
now on show at The Museum
Of The Thames ,The Bargehouse, Bargehouse Street, London
from March 24th to July 1st. A dance piece performed to
a score composed entirely from Thames sounds, is to be performed
in Stockholm, Sweden at an experimental dance festival by
The Su-en Butoh Dance Company. The
piece is entitled "Yatra, a journey to the source of the
body" and will take place in May 2001.
SOUNDS
OF THE RIVER THAMES
(Click to hear)
if you can't hear anything, click here to download flash player
About
Lee Berwick
Lee
has lived in Bermondsey, South-East London, on the banks
of The Thames for the past ten years. Prior to that an interest
in mudlarking and fishing often brought him to the river.
From an early age he has had a deep appreciation of the
river and is keenly aware of its continually changing nature
and life. After a career in computer networking and much
world-wide travel, he opened the Digidub Recording Studios
in 1989. A record label soon followed, along with many record
and CD releases. Experimentation and focus on art has always
been of prime importance in his work. For more info on this
part of Lee's work, check out the rest of this site
THANKS
TO :
The Museum Of
Tascam Electronics
Video Europe
Rycote
Thames Water
All the Hotels and Bed and Breakfasts
who gave Lee a free meal and a bed for the night
VIEWS
OF THE RIVER THAMES
