1 week Ago
Sewage pollution in the Thames has been a problem for centuries. A new art installation at Science Gallery London explores the history, engineering, geography and science of human waste in the river. In the summer of 1858, the smell of untreated human waste coming from the river Thames in London became so unbearable that the nearby Houses of Parliament had to soak the curtains in lime chloride to try to mask the scent.
It’s not quite as bad now, but even in 2024 the Thames has a sewage problem . For example, at the annual boat race between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge earlier this year, rowers were warned not to enter the water because of high levels of E. coli bacteria.
The long and complex relationship between the river and human waste inspired artist Gayle Chong Kwan to create the installation " I am the Thames and the Thames is me " for the Vital Signs exhibit, which opened today at London's Science Gallery. The Thames’ sewage problem shown on fabric "I spent time looking at first-hand testimonies from people in the nineteenth century about the state of sewage in the Thames," Chong Kwan says. "What was heartbreaking is that these testimonies are quite similar to ones you hear today.
" She created an immersive experience in which gallery visitors walk past a group of life-sixed "river guardians" and a fabric representation of the Thames draped along the walls. At the end of the room is a collage of testimonies about pollution in London's river. Chong Kwan collaborated with researchers from King's College London to learn more about the Thames' long history with sewage and how it is treated today.
She describes how waste is currently treated at the Beckton sewage treatment facilities. "They use a quite innovative way of evaporating the water," she says. "It becomes sewage ash that then is used for aggregate.
" In her research on the topic of human waste and the Thames, fabric kept coming up. "Fabric was used in medieval toilets as a way of containing the stench," Chong Kwan says. It came back again the chloride-soaked curtains at Parliament in 1858.
"And urine was used historically in dyeing techniques all around the Thames as well," she adds. That inspired her to use fabric in this work. She created tie-dyed patterns using objects found near the Thames, and even used her own urine in the dyeing process.
The dye she used was indigo, which is loosely connected to Joseph Bazalgette who created London's sewer system after the 1858 Great Stink. He was also a consultant on civil engineering projects in Mauritius, which is home to the plant Indigofera spicata , which can be used to make indigo dye. Human waste also features elsewhere at the Vital Signs exhibit Human waste as a source of environmental concern was also reflected in another unique installation in the Science Gallery's restroom facilities.
This work, " Sh*t Happens! " by Louise Mackenzie, explores how we can re-use our own bodily waste in different ways, such as in composting. An audio interview with Randa Kachef and other researchers is continuously played over the speaker system and sections of a zine are displayed on some of the stall doors. The audio segment is quite long, but visitors who don't want to stay in the toilet area longer than necessary can scan a QR code that points to a transcript of the interviews.
The full zine is also part of a Living Library at the Vital Signs exhibit, where visitors can take a seat and read books and other materials about topics related to the exhibit. Even sitting in one of the chairs or benches in the library is a reminder that humans leave our mark on the world, because a layer of thermochromic paint on the furniture temporarily maintains an imprint of the warm bodies that took a rest there. Besides human waste, other works at the Vital Signs exhibit focus on different aspects of our connection to the environment.
For example, " Air is Kin " by the Centric Lab touches on air pollution, while " I Sing the Spirit Fantastic " bring's Ben Okri' s poetry to life (quite literally) in a living grass tapestry by Ackroyd & Harvey where photosynthesis becomes a printing process. Vital Signs puts human experience at the centre. Through works such as "I am the Thames and the Thames is me" or " Sh*t Happens!" visitors are reminded that discussions about the environment don't always have to be about big picture climate action and COP panels, but that it can be about much more familiar topics.
"The work that I'm doing is a way of bringing our ideas of bodily ways closer to home," says Chong Kwan. The Vital Signs exhibit places our own actions as both problem and the solution, and encourages us to think of our impact on the world — even if it’s just as the human waste we leave behind. Overall, it sends a hopeful message, also reflected as the exhibit's subtitle: another world is possible.
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