John Hansard Gallery is pleased to present Hydromancy, a new commission by Matterlurgy.
Filmed on location at the National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton, a globally renowned centre for developing technologies that investigate the world’s oceans, earth systems and biosphere, Hydromancy blends documentary with artistic intervention, considering the ocean as both a sensory environment and scientific object. As viewers, we visit a coral lab bathed in blue light, an engineering workshop, and enter a room bubbling with algae and phytoplankton.
Hydromancy puts into focus the spaces and technologies involved in ocean sensing and modelling: autonomous vehicles, remote sensors and tools that measure temperate and composition. The film shifts in and out of scale and perspective while water acts as a portal to span time and space. Haunting the film is the sound of the Hydromancer, an utterance between voice, song, breath and atmosphere.
Hydromancy was co-commissioned by John Hansard Gallery and Onassis Stegi, and premieres at John Hansard Gallery. The film then forms part of the exhibition Weather Engines at Onassis Stegi in Spring 2022, curated by Daphne Dragona and Jussi Parikka.
