This installation proposal challenges the existing conditions within Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York by means of expanding the conversation around swamplands, in a manufactured context that resembles—well—a swamp. A semi-sunken table set in a custom-made pond is the stage where guests come to bring experiences, knowledge and wisdom around the theme of wet transitional landscapes. By changing the spatial perceptions and protocols, the installation aims to create new dialogues, assemblies and networks of action.

Parts of the gallery space are proposed to be covered by a black tarp which holds a manufactured landscape with greenery, moss and rocks, resembling swamplands, also covering the pond. When entering, guests will be invited to change their behavior by firstly, swapping their footwear to water-proof boots that will be part of the installation, and to gather around the semi-sunken table within the pond. The table, surrounded by the manufactured landscape, is designed with proportions set to trigger interactions, instead of experiencing the exhibition solitarily. Associating the familiar typology of a dining table with the swamp context is a deliberate decision to set the dialogues in context.

This forceful invitation to change one’s attitude towards water by being in it in the middle of New York City, is a reaction to architectural solutions that decide to alter landscapes with no consideration of their impact, instead of rethinking the relation with and towards them. Examples of adaptations to transitional landscapes were relevant to our proposal, such as the case of chinampas and trajineras in Xochimilco, or the attitude of many Venetians to acqua alta, adapting to water instead of fighting it.