Path, 2016
Wood, windows, uniform, Variable size
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Essay for Discovery
The following essay is a mix of fact and fiction
constructed in multiple perspectives.
Canoe Trip with Matthew
Whales were spouting water in the middle of the
straits. We could not see them from the distance; however, we could hear their
sound as if they were right by us. Maybe it felt too close that I got chills.
That breath was massive just as we were next to the lung. Throughout the afternoon,
we heard the sound. It was just like a sound of a man.
We continued to row the canoe. A group of humpback
whales finally approached us. There was one sperm whale in the group. The sun
was going down towards the west. From our left, we heard the gasps of the sea
mammals like sea lions. We continued rowing in company with the aery sounds. At
some point, it started to drizzle. We did not have a raincoat so we covered
with the plastic bags and went along. The rustling sound of plastic bag was
getting on my nerves, but soon after, I was no longer hearing the sound.
Matthew is the most amazing thinker that I know of.
He knew that back in the days people used the dry ordure from animals as a
fuel, and so he invented a fuel-making machine with the dog poop discarded
around the city. He also made a snack cart with the machine to boil coffee or
tea. After he graduated from MIT, he has been making that machine and mostly
donated to the rural communities.
We were heading towards the southern island with
the machine on board. The canoe was made with bent mangrove tree and drifted
piece of vinyl. I assumed some cheese,
coffee, and two slices of biscuits as a compensation for making of canoe.
We landed on the beach and spent a night. We were
all wet so we set bonfire with driftwoods. We were supposed to night watch in
turn, however, I was too tired that could not easily fall asleep.
The next day, we met again with the humpback whales
from yesterday at the strife. We woke up from the gigantic breathing sound
gushing out from their lungs. The whales swam across where we are and head
towards the further south, the sounds losing farther away.
I hurried for a voyage. We had 45L of water and
some canned food. The tide has been right on just in time. It was enough for us
to arrive in town by late night.
‘Tekapo’ is the name of the village. It is ‘harmonious’ in Native
Indian. When I first heard it, I thought it was such a beautiful word for some
reason. Of course I did not know what it meant at the time. Matthew said he
felt the same way.
We turned on a short wave radio to identify our
location. As we heard the clear sound of a DJ, we knew this trip was heading
towards its end. And that was when we last saw the whales. At 2 km distance, a
sperm whale blew in the spout and went into the water with a big breath. It was
as if he was waving towards us for a farewell. All of a sudden, I thought I
would make a whale with the debris of a crashed plane and clear vinyl.
Call with Matthew
When I was in Brazil, I stayed on the beach. There
were sands and palm trees right in front of the room and also the wooden dock
and the Atlantic. A day before Matthew left for Korea, he was in Fulton port on
Manhattan, New York. He was looking over the water and so do I. We knew the
water we each were looking were actually a one connected subject.
Land
When we look at the land, we acknowledge that one
is connected to the others, except for the islands, which is separated by the
water. We drive boats or planes and build bridges to connect the islands to the
shore. Therefore, all lands are eventually connected.
Water
I like water. Water appears silent, honorable, but
protean. Let’s assume we are each standing on the
riverside of Seoul and Taebaek. The
water we are looking from each point is actually a one body. The water we touch
is a one object. All the water on earth is connected from valleys to creeks to
rivers to the ocean. This connection is dispersed everywhere just like a
telephone cable in the city. The water embraces in peace. Water is generous.
Observation tower for fish
At the end of our canoe trip, we were enjoying
swimming. Sometimes, we took a glass bowl and watched the fishes. But from the
distance from the high sea, we could not see the village. The only thing we
could see was the mountain peak. I wished there was a tall observatory in the
canoe. Then I could have seen the village...Then I saw a buoy on the water
surface. But from the buoy, I still could not see the village. I remembered
seeing buoy from the village. Matthew told me that from the mountain peak, we
could see beyond the buoy.
I decided to make taller buoy. Just like the
observatory tower on the mountain peak. And also put a clear window just like a
glass bowl so the fishes could see the village. It might not be easy, but I believed
this was possible.
Island like Lakes
In central Africa, there are lakes called Malawi
and Tanganyika. Among many others, these two were originally a one deep. When
the terrain moved, they are separated and became each lake. There lived the
fish called ‘secret’. Secrets started to evolve in each different environment and
attained totally different skin color. The secrets of Malawi have the bright
color like the clothes of spring. The secrets of Tanganyika have the darker and
heavier color than the clothes of the winter. These two distinct lakes neither
follow the water stream nor communicate with the ocean. It is indeed a unique
topography.
Path
I often imagine myself being a fish and swim across
the ocean. I really like the neutral state of floating, where I do not feel the
weight of the body. After listening to the story of two lakes in Central
Africa, I thought about the path connecting each lake. The water in each lake
is being connected as if two islands are connected with a bridge. In order to
overcome the elevation differences and to maintain the level of water, pressure
must be applied along the path or use a potential energy of to keep
distributing water from the lower lake. We can apply an electricity storage
method of river diversion system.
Discovery
It is always exciting and frightening to explore
the unknown territory. Therefore, we first explore visually through making
observations. The anxiety towards an unfamiliar place can be overcome in some
degree through such observation. If the fear on new place does not disappear,
then the observation method was ineffective.
Epilogue
On two lakes, the observatory tower for fish is
installed place to places that now they can see each other from the windows of
the buoy. Also through the paths under water, it is possible to come- and- go
each place.
Park Kijin
Seon Ryeong CHO
