In Spring 2016, Mia Rushton and Eric Moschopedis began a six week residency with Grand Union researching the network of canals in Birmingham, particularly those running through Digbeth.
Their investigation was divided into three categories: historical research, engaging with different user groups, and through a process of walking, boating, finding, and collecting along the canals themselves.
The water of the canals became a strong metaphor for the social and spatial shifts occurring in Digbeth at the time, which feel more relevant now than ever. Diving into discussions of regeneration and redevelopment, Mia + Eric explored how Digbeth hangs in the balance, questioning how the history of the area is repackaged and utilised to make it more easily digestible in conversations surrounding urban planning and place making.
The water of the canals became a strong metaphor for the social and spatial shifts occurring in Digbeth at the time, which feel more relevant now than ever. Diving into discussions of regeneration and redevelopment, Mia + Eric explored how Digbeth hangs in the balance, questioning how the history of the area is repackaged and utilised to make it more easily digestible in conversations surrounding urban planning and place making.
As part of their residency, Mia + Eric invited members of the public on an evening walk along the Grand Union canal. During the walk Mia + Eric talked about their experiences in Digbeth and plans for making work in response to the canal network. ‘Dark Thoughts About Darker Water’ (a 64-page book) was the visual outcome for the performative research practice that allowed Mia + Eric to consider the canal through a critical and creative lens, holding much of what they explored throughout the residency.
Mia said: ‘We often talked about how the water was haunted. We imagined elements of the industrial past and the contemporary pollutants floating around like ghosts – something was there, but we couldn’t see what. Something that lingered and it scared us.’
Page scanned from ‘Dark Thoughts about Darker Water’ (2016) by Eric Moschopedis and Mia Ruston.
Grand Union Canal Workshop with Mia + Eric
19 March 2016
Eric Moschopedis and Mia RushtonIn Residence
Studios8 February – 26 March 2016‘Dark Thoughts about Darker Water’ contains ideas about turning Birmingham’s canal water into drinking water, and explorations of the historical industrial pollution of the water in the area, which speaks to our ongoing remediation work through the Growing Project on the canal side and beyond. Although there was no planned relationship between the projects, the links between this residency and Asad Rasa’s Field Commission work ‘Reabsorption’, the Floating Garden, and much of our other work in the city are apparent.
About the Artists
Mia Rushton and Eric Moschopedis are an interdisciplinary artist team from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Since 2008 they have been creating interdisciplinary exhibitions, temporary public art, participatory works, and interventions under the moniker, Mia + Eric. They bring together elements of craft, performance, cultural geography, and multi-species ethnography to create site-specific and socially-engaged works. Thematically Mia + Eric’s practice deals with interspecies relationships, biodiversity and place-based knowledge production in cities, small towns, and rural spaces.