the great puddle
A puddle is a small accumulation of water on a surface. Puddles commonly form during rain. They are generally shallow enough to walk through and tend to gather on the edges of the road. This can cause splashing as cars drive through the puddles, which causes water to be sprayed onto pedestrians on the pavement. Irresponsible drivers may do this deliberately. If the water comes up from the canalization, gully cover are washed away and trespassing people might get sucked into the exposed holes. The water is intransparent, covering dangerous little objects like broken glass from our gaze. Puddles tend to evaporate quickly due to the high surface-area-to-volume ratio and tend to be short lived.
Berlin-based video artists Graw Böckler invite friends and beautiful acquaintances for a swim in the puddle: just hang out a bit in the water, refresh, dive, relax, have a little fashion shoot, dance tango or play around with dirt from the streets. An urban recreational activity is introduced, bringing back memories from childhood when puddles were a source of fascination. In search of the great puddle Graw Böckler travel around cities like Novosibirsk, Valencia, Gotland, London, Cologne, Berlin or Buenos Aires. Muddy waters cover urban landscapes. Something small, temporary and beneath notice becomes big, deep and a source of fun and adventure. "The Great Puddle" is part of the even larger project Let´s talk about the weather.
Starring: Sofia Lomba, Sheily Jimenez, Anna Gzirishvili, Ramsey Arnaoot, Matthew Bohan, Lena Böhm, Reneé Carmichael, Adrián de Alfonso, Ursula Böckler and Octavio Garabello. Video: Graw Böckler. loop, 20 min. Berlin 2016. Supported by Goethe Institut Novosibirsk, SoCCoS, CREATIVE EUROPE und DISK/CTM.
