DEBRA SCACCO

Channel is site-specific work that employs the reflective surface of duralar to cast the multiple possible routes of the Los Angeles river into patterns along the walls and floors of the space. The work is an exploration of the lines, patterns, trails and possibilities of the Los Angeles river. The work builds a new vernacular around water while placing the viewer in the center of the water system itself. This brings the viewer into the delicacy of the river system and our role in it, while highlighting the complexity of how natural systems have been irreversibly impacted in such a short space of time. The monumental work is engaged with as viewers make their way around it and find themselves reflected within it. 

The work will be activated by the  performance Atmospheric River,  created in collaboration with Joel Garcia. This transitional sculpture and performance work celebrates the energy of water in bodies, earth, and spirit. The work directly engages with the First Peoples of Los Angeles, drawing on the oral history of the channelization of the Los Angeles River and how it impacts these communities. The sculptural work places hand-carved paths of the Los Angeles River within an arrangement of angled reflective panels which provide a focal point and amplifier. Activated through five-minute vocal performances performed by Sharon Chohi Kim, Odeya Nini, and Sara Sinclair Gomez, the work initiates a physical resonance within participants that creates a kinship between living bodies and bodies of water. This creates the resonance of the connections of all living systems to water, with the unification and separation of sound serving as reminders of how our lives are in infinite cycles of interweaving, diverging, and merging yet again. The a cappella vocal performance will create moments of resonance and silence, with the breath of the environment a critical part of the composition. Scacco has also curated two panel discussions to develop a dialogue concerning issues alluded to in these works and to further contextualize the work that people from indigenous communities are completing to protect the Los Angeles River and our waters.