Distillation, You Yangs, Geelong, Australia, May 2009
A working wood fired distillery was designed and constructed to receive and distil diverse waters brought from water bodies around the Geelong district. "Distillation" was part of the “Connecting Identities Project” which focussed on narratives, artworks and events around water and community. The distillery was set up in the You Yangs Mtns and funtioned through the final stage of the project on May 9th
Waters were brought in vessels from the sea, rivers and other water bodies from around the region to the distillery. These diverse waters were poured into the "receiving vessel on top of a large granite outcrop. Water flowed from this vessel to a central boiler where it was evaporated/ purified by fire. Steam produced was delivered to a third vessel via a condenser which cooled and collected the distilled/ purified water. The distilled water was then ceremoniously carried and poured into an ancient aboriginal waterhole carved into the top of the “Big Rock”. The 3 containers were cone shaped to represent the mountain and aid the distillation process.
Water prior to distillation having come from many sources was rich in variety and diversity. Water after distillation was uniform, homogenous and unified. The essence of the project was a meditation on the difference between water and waters and the suggested implications of identity, togetherness, diversity, unity and individuality, as well as touching on broader environmetntal isues of water quality and scarcity (click on thumbnails for enlarged image).
