“Towns may be changed, but the well is not changed.
You may go and you may come, but the well remains the well.”
— I Ching (Book of Changes), translated from the Russian
Artist: Marina Razheva
Date: 2005 (sketches)
Location: Kronprinz Tower, Kaliningrad, Russia
Type: Unrealized light installation; competition proposal
Materials: Projector system, circular reflector, light-intensity regulator
Site conditions: The tower’s central atrium, extending through its full height
Dimensions / Duration: Variable; not specified
Work Description
The proposal envisages a system of projectors, a circular reflector and a light-intensity regulator installed at the bottom of the tower’s central atrium. At a chosen moment, the electricity is switched on, and a powerful column of light bursts out of the well into the sky.
Concept
A well cannot be moved from place to place, but the water in it can rise and fall. Many circumstances determine whether there is water at all, and whether it is fit to drink. Even a full well raises the question of how to draw from it.
The image is motionless on the one hand, and possesses only an inner mobility on the other.
Context
According to the historical record, the Kronprinz barracks changed their function more than fifteen times after they were built. The complex housed grenadier regiments, living quarters, police units, a military treasury, storehouses, schools and shops.
The tower was subsequently transferred to the Kaliningrad branch of the National Centre for Contemporary Arts (NCCA).
Further Use
The installation could serve as the tower’s identifying sign, a “beacon of the Kaliningrad NCCA”. With the help of an intensity regulator, the column of light could become particularly bright at certain moments, such as during an event or an opening.
Realization
The project was not realized. It was submitted to the competition Kronprinz Tower: The Second Coming, organized by the Kaliningrad branch of the NCCA.
The first competition attracted 45 artists and collectives from ten countries. Its results were presented during Kaliningrad’s Museum Night on 19–20 May 2006. The jury selected The Well for publication in a set of postcards issued after the competition.
Source Images
Fig. 1. the sketch for the installation, 2005, reproduced on a postcard in the competition edition.
Fig. 2. the pencil sketch for the installation
Fig. 3. Screenshot of a portion of the “competition results” page, 2006, web archive
Related Pages
Project: The Well