Brad Temkin
Brad Temkin
The State of Water
Hardcover
13 x 10 in
70 images
148 pages
Radius Books
From the artist:
Brad Temkin brings attention to the visual and ecological beauty of the transformation of water, by showing the structures and processes that most people do not even think about. Most storm water runoff is considered waste; yet more than 700 cities reclaim and re-use wastewater and storm water with combined sewer systems, recycling it for agricultural uses and even drinking water. As we mimic nature and separate the impurities like sludge or salt or chemicals, a transformation occurs. Temkin believes it matters less what each structure really is used for, or whether the water in his pictures are pure or waste. He is drawn instead to the strangeness of these forms and the distorted sense of scale. Moving beyond mere description, he embraces the abstract and at times surreal landscape of water transformation.
Shade Balls, Los Angeles CA, 2017 © Brad Temkin, Courtesy Radius Books
Floating Balls, Los Angeles CA, 2018 © Brad Temkin, Courtesy Radius Books
Book review by Jinny Choi |
Brad Temkin shows us the unexpected serenity and beauty of water infrastructures.
Temkin’s interest in water infrastructures—from weirs, sewers, water tunnels, to reservoirs—was sparked while working on his series Rooftop (2009-2010), a photographic research into rooftop gardens. Rooftop gardens are usually found on roofs in urban areas, and are used to absorb runoff water, which in turn reduces flooding.
Temkin began to wonder about the fate of the rest of the runoff, leading him to his ongoing project, The State of Water. The book of the same title is an investigation into the relationship between humans and water: examined through photographs of the architectural means in which we manage both our drinkable resources and wastewater.
Photographed in his hometown Chicago as well as other major cities like Philadelphia and Los Angeles, the series presents unfamiliar perspectives of where our water is stored and maintenanced. The subject strikes as so niche it comes as a surprise to find a wide range of subject matter within the series. Temkin exposes hidden parts of a system crucial to our society: spaces most of us never even think about. Such exposure offers meaning to the labor that goes into preserving and protecting our water.
“Slow Sand Filters” reveals a cathedral-like interior of a water purification site in Philadelphia, with its repetitive columns and ceiling openings filtering in light rather majestically. For many of us, water carries spiritual symbolism; for some, water is even associated with religious rituals, such as baptism, signifying rebirth. The sacred ambiance of the site seems to emphasize this connection between water and spirituality.
While some images capture surprising serenity, others are eerie and even threatening, such as the shade balls that resemble explosives.
Inlet, Los Angeles, CA, 2018 © Brad Temkin, Courtesy Radius Books
Tempkin captures the subtle differences of movement in water: at the bottom third of the image “Inlet,” the water is completely still, almost appearing solid. As the water falls, it appears vaporous, and in the upper third of the image, water is now distrubed with visible ripples. Temkin shows us that water alone can be an interesting subject, which is further explored and highlighted in the next photograph that solely focuses on the ripples in the water.
Many of the images in the series, if not most, evoke a feeling of loneliness, perhaps because they are hidden places, built with purely practical intentions.
