Description
water from the Medlock in Mayfield Park- sediment at the bottom, staining round the jar. looks a lil bit gross. do not shake.
Curator's Notes
This water is the same water I fished out of the River Medlock in Mayfield Park in 2024, but it does not look like the same water I fished out of the River Medlock in Mayfield Park in 2024. First it was clear. Then it split into water and [various layers of] sediment. Then tiny lil thin wormy critters waved at me from the bottom. They they must have died [as my pal with an environmental science degree said: “things need oxygen to live. Maybe leave the lid off next time if you want to keep the worms”. Hindsight is wonderful]. Then other things happened. And now it is what it is; weirdly stained.
Things have changed in this jar. But that’s okay, here at the Material City we like change.
Especially changes like how clean the Medlock is now compared to the 1850s. Because my sadly deceased worm buddies are actually a sign of a [more] balanced ecosystem brought about by continual river clean up and pollution legislation. No more tanneries and dye works dumping chemical chaos into the poor river, instead just some casual microplastics and also whatever is washed downstream to Mayfield when the rain gets heavy [I’ll give you a hint- some of it comes from the red light district further up river and is not child friendly].
