Wastewater Runoff Pipe

Single Channel Video and Photographic series

2006 – 2009

The photo and video series Wastewater Runoff Pipe sporadically documents a water treatment facility’s treated wastewater as it empties into a local stream near Woodstock, NY. Using long time frames across the seasons, I observe and document the contrast between the organic natural processes of growth and decay with the strict geometric forms of our technological infrastructure. Issues of permanence versus entropy, obsolescence, and the impulse to control and sanitize are contrasted with the regenerative power and cyclical structure of nature. Experiencing the sewer drainage pipe within the context of a landscape becomes a metaphor for the individual’s relationship with the natural world. The use of a symmetrical and circular composition evokes symbolic sacred art from various cultures and time periods, inducing a meditative state to promote metaphysical contemplation about the viewer’s own relationship to time, nature and mortality.

The video spans a time period from November 1st, 2008 to April 16th, 2009, and is meant to be projected on the floor as an endless seamless loop, each loop lasting 2 1/2 minutes.  This online version loops three times.  There is also this Hi-Res version of the video.  The photo series spans a longer period of time, from November 10, 2006 to April 16, 2009.

Here is a composite view of 16 of the photographs shown in a grid format for exhibition:

Dave Hebb - Wastewater Runoff Pipe series layout