estuaire central

Project presentation and discussion
Saturday March 27th at 3pm
at articule

The project estuaire central is concerned with developing a new perspective on the section of the St-Lawrence estuary that is usually called estuaire moyen (middle estuary). The latter expression suggests that this space is nothing but a transitory region lying in between, connecting the fluvial with the maritime estuary. However, it is in this section of the estuary that a whole series of unique phenomena occur.

 

For example, it is in the middle estuary that the tides are maximal; more than 1000 km from the open ocean, the difference in water levels from high to low tides is up to 6 metres. Moreover, it is here that the transition from fresh water to sea water is observed. The concentration of salt increases by a factor of ten over a distance of only 100 km. The fluctuating tides, and the mixture of warm fresh waters and cold salty waters cause strong and vicious currents that have to be considered when navigating in the middle estuary. Furthermore, this section of the estuary is home to the so-called silt plug (bouchon vaseux), a unique phenomena that creates an ideal habitat for rare species such as the black sturgeon.

 

Rona Rangsch will present and, using artistic analysis and interpretation, comment on these phenomena with the aid of photography, video and vector animation. In order to refer to the particularity of the place, her aim is to motivate the establishment of the term estuaire central as a replacement for the term estuaire moyen.

 

Rona Rangsch studied physics at the Universities of Cologne and Saarbruecken where she graduated in 1996. In 1999, after scientific research activities at several renowned institutions, she made physics her hobby and began a carreer as a media artist. Her artistic concepts stem from unusual associations detected by her unprejudiced senses. Not unlike scientific methodology, the elaboration of her projects follows guidelines but leaves room for playful elements. The interpretation of geophysical, climatic, and social particularities is at the core of her current works, making travelling a crucial element in her life as an artist. She was awarded several international residency grants, among others in Canada, Austria and Japan.
Besides exhibiting her own work in Germany and abroad, Rona Rangsch organizes conceptual group shows in the exhibition program of the Kuenstlerhaus Dortmund where she has been a member since 2003.