Janet Laurence, Waterveil
‘Waterveil’ forms the glass wall behind the concierge desk in the CH2 ground floor reception area. The glass foyer wall creates a site for a permanent artwork that has evolved through project-specific research and design collaboration with the CH2 architects.
The artwork creates a transparent atmospheric membrane that expresses and reveals hydrology processes, in particular the blackwater recycling treatment utilised in CH2.
A series of vertical overlapping glass panels form the Waterveil wall of the foyer. Over these are hanging or standing glass panels scripted with metallic texts of the chemical symbols indicating the elements removed in the black water treatment.
These panels carry a series of poured fluids in colours of water and chemistry overlaying the chemistry images on the white starfired glass panels beneath In the work, glass is a metaphor of the fluidity and transparency of water and its purification. Blackwater treatment is usually a hidden process. However, this work expresses, reveals and interprets the process; thus educating in a playful and poetic way, whilst connecting to the total concept of the building.
The work expresses an open and fluid reading, through an alluring and veiling language, that is allusive rather than a fixed didactic expression. This is to draw the viewer into the work, in order to engage with the ghosted chemical images and texts screened into the glass.
This work bleeds the boundary between the inside and the outside of the building’s skin. It can be viewed from both within the building, and the public space outside. One sees through it and reflects into it in varying light.
The Waterveil is consistent with other works Janet has completed, revealing our interconnection to the natural environment and the elemental world.