Ghislan Sutherland-Timm

Why is water so heavy? vol. ii. What came ashore

“vol. ii. What came ashore” (c. 2023) is part of an ongoing autobiographical-fictional collection of works, entitled “Why is water so heavy?” (c. 2022-present) interlocking the fluidity and borderless nature of water in relation to diaspora and landmarking. A vocal hymn soaks through the decaying planks of wood carved with glyphs paying homage to my ancestral ties to the petroglyphs in Youloumain/St. Vincent and the Grenadines. As a multimedia installation, integral to the work is the integration and acknowledgement of the collaged identity. This being informed by the movement of water that has the agency to carry with, destruct, or displace oneself.In “vol. ii. What came ashore”, I dwell on the ambiguity of my roots as time and climate disaster continues to spatialize both the physical and spiritual fragments of my ancestral histories and cultural practices lost in water. Many questions in relation to my work are left unanswered, which is reflective of it being a project that is always in progress; similar to that of the formation of identity.

“The floor of the sea knows more than me but when I dive into the deep I wonder why is the water so heavy?”