An Islands is essentially underwater – it is surrounded by water on every side and it’s weather cycle immerses it in water every day. A remote island is the most underwater I could be while still dwelling on land. Since developing the technique to capture the movement of water, it has been my dream to take it out of the laboratory and into the field, specifically on an island. The biggest reason for this being that water changes drastically when it’s handled and transported. I will be able to catch water that directly comes from the ocean. It is more lively than tap water or even rain in Los Angeles, which falls through layers of pollution. Once Upon Water on Pico Island is an exceptionally amazing residency because of the many different forms of water – ocean, lakes, rivers, rainwater. It has a dynamic water cycle to work with and its mineral rich black lava rock has a strong effect on the water. For the duration of my stay I will capture three images a day focusing on the waters that are most lively in the island’s water cycle. The first images will be captured from daily collected rainwater or mist. For the second session I will go to the shoreline near our accommodations and capture images from the ocean. Then everyday I will chose a different site on the island to map images of the water there, focusing on different points in the water cycle such as a rushing river, or more slowly fluid lake water, or the turbulent river delta. In the end I will have water samples from many different stages of the water cycle including the ocean, rainwater, lakes, and rivers. The flow of the water through these cycles is important to my work which primarily talks about the flow of water through sentient and non-sentient forms. As I work on giving the water from the island a visual manifestation, I will also offer lectures and information to fellow artists and residents of the island who are interested.
My practice is part art, part science, and part personal spiritual journey. My work centers on my passion for exploring consciousness in nature through photography, architecture, and movement. I see nature as an intelligent and aware being, full of creativity and intention. As an architect I have been studying nature as a built environment, searching for its architect and dweller. Invisible forces in nature, like energy, spirits, vibrations and gods have traditionally been ignored by science. It is their invisibility that prevents us from studying them. I suspected that water is the component that links spirit to matter – the material to the magical. As a researching and educational technique I have created a method to capture the forms that are created in water that have previously been invisible to the naked eye. The images show the movement of water in real time as it reacts to different stimuli both physical and metaphysical. These images educate people about how water holds an infinite possibility of forms. It is an overwhelming feeling when you realize that you are looking at water’s blueprint for life. The first iteration of these images can be seen in my photographic series, Faces of Water.
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Moses Hacmon is an artist and architect. Born in 1977 in Tel-Aviv, Israel, Moses studied cinematography and fine art at Avni Institute of Art and Design in Tel-Aviv. In 2006 Moses completed his B.Arch with AIA honors award, from SCI_Arc (Southern California Institute of Architecture). After graduating Moses started intense training in movement and dance with Body Weather Laboratory to explore water in a somatic manner. Moses spent ten years studying Water’s composition, properties, and movement. Moses developed a photographic technique that captures the hidden life of this substance for the first time; it’s called Faces of Water. This technique exposes the movement of life within Water and its infinite form.