and waters carry it

and waters carry it

performance: rocks, steamer, galvanised stainless steel pan, moseley bog water, microscopic algae slides, paper, metal racks, hot plate, card.

and waters carry it (2023) was a site-responsive performance comprising steam-heated stones, which were passed around to members of the public as part of an exhibition at Eastside Projects, Birmingham. The piece engaged with the archaeological and ecological significance of Moseley Bog and nearby Coldbath Brook, where ancient burnt mounds – Bronze Age saunas dating back over 3000 years – once functioned as spaces of ritual, healing, and collective gathering. Referencing historical interpretations of these sites as proto-saunas, the work explored how heat, water, and organic material operate as carriers of material and spiritual transformation. The performance reactivated local history, transforming the gallery into a ceremonial site, where people participated in haptic encounters. The work activated a shared sensory language through temperature, moisture, and the weight of stones, through which bodies exchanged heat with one another across time and space. The work contributes to Sharples’s site-specific and responsive research into ecology, architecture, and material culture. It positions performance as a method of temporal excavation, allowing ecology, matter, and mythology to surface together.

and waters carry it was performed at ‘If It Thunders on All Fool’s Day’ at Eastside Projects, Birmingham, UK. Curated by Dinosaur Kibly