WATERFALL PAVILION

RIRKRIT TIRAVANIJA TEAMS UP WITH KULAPAT YANTRASAST OF wHY TO LESSEN THE DISTANT CONNECTION BETWEEN PEOPLE AND THE RIVER AT CURRENT:LA

CURRENT: LA has ended and Los Angeles’ first Public Art Biennale successfully brought together a great number of works of art that interestingly raised the issue of the relationship between art and public space. This year, Rirkrit Tiravanija teamed up with an architect with veteran experience working with artists and art-oriented projects, Kulapat Yantrasast of whY in the creation of ‘untitled 2016 (LA water, water pavilion)’ or ‘Waterfall Pavilion.’ This temporary wooden pavilion was located in the middle of a stream that runs from the waterfall into the Los Angeles River at the area known as Sepulveda Basin. The pavilion is distinctive for its Water One World Solutions’ water management system, in which the water that runs underneath the structure is not only purified but drinkable as the semi-water pavilion grants further interactions between viewers and the space through different types of activities such as meditation, water coloring and tea-drinking sessions. The once distant connection between people and the river has not only been reduced as spectators sit back, talk or even enjoy a little fishing, but the work also successfully encapsulated this year’s theme, ‘Water’ in the most engaging and meaningful manner.