Artist research meeting- warming water
24/08/30
Paks Hungary and Rheinsberg Germany
It’s another hot summer, or, the coolest summer of the rest of our lives.
We had a curatorial meeting with the project’s commissioned artists as start to prepare for the November opening. As the nuclear theme can be rather detailed and complex, we’ve occasionally held meetings where our participating artists can present their ongoing research.
In two of the projects, the warming facts of climate change and how it effects the nuclear industry emerged. Dominika Trapp is working at the Paks power plant, and Marike Schreiber is working at the decommissioned Rheinsberg plant.
The work around Paks has been affected by the weather. The normal opperation of the plant has been altered because of the water level and heat of the Danube. The river water is normally used to cool the plant, and with climate change, the river is low and the water is warm, effecting the ability to run the plant with a good safety margin.
In Germany, artist Marike Schreiber is working at the decommissioned Rheinsberg power plant, so there is no change in the running of the plant. But the plant was situated where it is because of access to the Stechlin Lake. Stechlin has been subject to scientific study by the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries since before the construction of the power plant. Over that time, the institute has seen a radical rise in temperature.
On Marike's upcoming artist-led tour of the area around the Rheinsberg plant, we will visit the lake and speak with people from the institute.