EFA

Swimming Cities, ‘Oceans of Blood’

Radial, 2011. Photograph

Courtesy of the artists, Brooklyn, NY

Swimming Cities is a diverse and evolving collaboration of artists, builders, and visionaries who come together each year to take on a new waterway. Originally united through common friendship and talent by the artist Swoon, the group traces its roots back to the raft project the "Miss Rockaway Armada." The community floats into towns to present an inspiring, interactive environment that encompasses art, sculpture, music and performance. This year’s project is their most ambitious yet, as they travel farther from home, and expand to include larger-scale collaborations. They have built a fleet of small sculptural, interlocking river crafts that form a floating island platform, called The Radial to be sailed down the Ganges River in India.  Coinciding with the festival of Diwali, they will arrive in Varanasi, said to be the oldest living city in the world. On its banks the boats will merge to form a floating theater, on which they will present a visual and musical event themed on the experiences of their adventure and the boundless historical & cultural richness of the land. For Sea Worthy, the crew have presented a sculptural installation gathered from found objects and borrowed iconographies that hint at this ongoing exploration.