“Swimming Cities of the Switchback Sea…part floating artwork, part performance, part mobile utopia...”
-The New York Times
"Spy said that she stood on the roof of the steamboat as it went under the Brooklyn Bridge. 'My favorite part was seeing the support wires of the bridge cross hatch and become like wings. It was so emotional to see the city from that angle,” Spy said. “Like strings of harp into wings.'" -The New York Moon
Spy will be covering The Swimming Seas of Serenissima adventure for
, an international magazine for contemporary art and culture.Upcoming 2009: The Swimming Seas of Serenissima, from the Karst region of Slovinia to the Venice Biennale.
Previously 2008: The Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea
Image archive by Tod Seelie.
A lesson in humility is realizing the greatness of a bridge.
Words fail to explain things so profound, where the complexity of a situation evades language, and defaults to the subconscious mind. Things dream-like and indescribable become deeply resonant. The “Swimming Cities” are this way so fantastic they seem unreal. The boats are the tangible vehicle for grand inspirations. We live the story of artists who make their homes on junk boats in the water because it is the only space left, and this is exactly who we are, the luminous fringe thriving on flotsam. Venice has 410 bridges; the thought leaves me breathless.
Moses and I are riding with the Swimming Cities to crash the Venice Biennale, the illustrious contemporary art exhibition. Moses leaves in April to build boats in Koper, Slovenia. I co-write a show, and together with 30 art-outlaws, we navigate the Adriatic Sea for six weeks performing and experiencing great lessons in humility.
spy emerson
