THE CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE OF EVERYDAY LISTENING

by Izzy Mills Lyle

Exploring the relationship between people and the Thames ecologies, the narrative follows a spirit who listens and digests peoples’ problems, influencing them to talk more. The spirit is formed from scoby (symbiotic culture of yeast and bacteria), a by-product of kombucha, which can be dried and used as a bio-textile, resembling leather. ? In this narrative, the spirit seeks to stay hydrated to prevent her scoby skin drying out. Gravitating towards the Thames she bathes herself, realising the positive effects of water. She befriends the river creatures, particularly the endangered European Eel. When the listening spirit leaves the Thames, the eels are left heartbroken.  ? Her presence lingers and influences the eels in its wake. In her absence, strange things happen: the eels want nothing more than for the spirit to return; the eels gain powers of influence over humans. ? The building evolves out of the eels' desires, imagining a shrine for the spirit beckoning her to return. For human users, the shrine is a bathhouse connected to elements of Thames ecology: currents, tide, reedbeds, and the eels themselves. Enabling opportunities for the spirit to float through, it adapts to the tide using hydraulics, floating elements, and folding scoby cladding.

The eel pond structure moving in conjunction with the Thames Tide