Effluences - draft portfolio
Effluences is a visual study of sewage and waste-water infrastructure, in an around my home in Farnham, Surrey, UK. It is the result of my exploration the what, where, how, and occasionally when, of waste-water management, driven partly by recent public outcry over untreated sewage releases to waterways and coastal areas.
Sewage is a strong elicitor of disgust; and disgust has been identified by philosophers from Plato to Kant as having a uniquely visceral response, that makes it a particularly challenging emotion to include in art (Korsmeyer 2011). This work and its choice of subject was, therefore, also driven by an exploration of the aesthetic, and particularly what Korsmeyer calls aesthetic disgust and the “sublate”, which relates to disgust in the same way as the sublime relates to fear.
Sewage infrastructure appears to be surrounded by barriers and fences, yet those obstacles are easily overcome: they are there to tell us where to stop, rather than to keep us out. Those boundaries serve another purpose: to protect us from the foulness that exists beyond them, to allow us to keep the detail and the reality of our waste at a distance, where we do not need to think about them. Public clamours for odour control and for opaque fences around sites add to the idea that we don’t want to see it, don’t want to smell it, don’t want any reminders about its existence. It is hardly surprising that, when untreated foulness escapes its prescribed boundaries, our reaction is outrage as much as disgust. We can no longer pretend our waste “just disappears”.
The exploration presented here is visual and intellectual – but could not stop there. The textures, the rough rubbings, bring a tactile dimension; and by crossing the protective boundaries I hope to remove the comfort of visual distance, to evoke smell and taste, even what it is to inhale the traces of the disgusting.
KORSMEYER, Carolyn. 2011. Savoring disgust: the foul and the fair in aesthetics. New York: Oxford University Press.
Words from others
Facebook respondents to "give me some words"
Jacqueline: Think one word sums the state the water companies have left our waterways in: "shameful"
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Bev: Another word… mismanaged! 😠
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Andrew: Essential, we take water and wastewater services for granted.
Underfunded, despite the recent bad press regarding shareholder payments, the water industry has been underfunded for decades leading to underinvestment in infrastructure. Is water and wastewater essential, yes. How much do we pay ? £28 / month for our household. Is broadband & TV essential ? No. How much do we pay ? Currently £60 / month ( soon to change ).
Good value, despite underfunding, the quality of service provided compared to the cost is good. Sure things go wrong and plant fails occasionally, however, the majority of time the infrastructure works well, despite lack of funding.
Dedicated staff, the majority of staff are dedicated to providing excellent service to customers, despite limited budgets.
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Online camera club responses to "how do you feel"
James: Your question prompted me to think of where our local sewage treatment plant is - and the answer is I don't know! There is one at Great Torrington which I've walked past but I'm sure there is one more local. But after looking on google maps, apple maps, south west water, I can't actually find a map of treatment works. If you look on OS maps you can find them but it's a manual process. Ties in with your concept of out of sight out of mind.
We do have an outflow pipe down on the beach which takes the waste away from the swimming area. If I'm honest, I only think of it as a handy path through the rocks.
In general terms I'm quite OK with waste treatment. My first job out of university involved making gas colorimeters which monitored/controlled the methane generated from the plants. The methane was used to drive the machines that worked the plants. Nice engineering solution to use the waste product of waste treatment in order to treat the waste.
Note: I did finally find a more local one near Yelland so I'm going to make a point of looking for it next time I walk that way.
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Judith: I am absolutely horrified at the attitude of the water companies, who seem to feel that it's perfectly fine to discharge raw sewage at any time, regardless of whether or not the weather conditions are extreme.
As you say, this issue has had a lot of media coverage lately. However, the town where I live has a river running through the centre, my preferred way of walking home from the town centre is alongside the river, and we have a very active (and vocal) "Friends of the River Frome" group. The surrounding area is very rural with many livestock farms upstream and slurry pollution has been an on-going problem.
Finally, the town's sewage works is very visible (and very smelly in the summer), so I don't think the issue is as hidden here as it is in many other places.
As you say, this issue has had a lot of media coverage lately. However, the town where I live has a river running through the centre, my preferred way of walking home from the town centre is alongside the river, and we have a very active (and vocal) "Friends of the River Frome" group. The surrounding area is very rural with many livestock farms upstream and slurry pollution has been an on-going problem.
Finally, the town's sewage works is very visible (and very smelly in the summer), so I don't think the issue is as hidden here as it is in many other places.
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K: I think this is probably a case of out of sight, out of mind, But maybe that’s because after looking at our area on the Rivers Trust map it looks like overflow emissions into the River Stort within our town totalled less than 13 hours in 2022. This seems pretty low compared to other places. Having looked at the map, I know exactly where the overflow pipe is as we see it on one of our regular walks. I’ve never noticed any obvious signs of untreated sewage there. The main sewage treatment plant is right on the outskirts of the town, in a rural area away from main roads, so I’ve never actually seen it up close. We’re more likely to notice the agricultural muck-spreading that happens locally as the smell carries on the wind. With regard to my thoughts in general, I hate the fact that raw sewage is pumped out to sea close to land. Mr [...] surfed for many years and he quite often commented on the unpleasant things that might have floated past him. I also worry about whether drugs and hormones are effectively taken out of waste water before it is pumped back into homes.
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Bob: The sewage treatment plant nearest to where I live is 4 miles away, it is right next to Langstone Harbour and the discharge pipes are clearly visible. I often go near the plant to photograph the water birds on a large freshwater pond, which is part of the treatment plant! If we want housing, then we have to infrastructure somewhere in the vicinity. A new reservoir is being constructed a couple of miles from my house. There has been a lot of opposition to the idea, that it will be filled with both rainwater and "treated water." The "treated water" part is a recent change to the original plan - probably why there is a real stink about it! (Sorry).
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Jackie: I was going to write what Bob did, so ditto. I'm sad that the original plans for the new reservoir changed drastically and caused so much tree destruction. Original plans were for the reservoir to have recreational use, but now nearly treated sewage going in, that's stopped.
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Joy: Not always quite as hidden. The pipes here run right down the Fylde coast with several pumping stations/ storage tanks where excess is discharged after heavy rain. There are vent pipes on the promenade in Blackpool close to the pier. Also manhole cover on the beach at St Anne's. To be honest when I was a child there was a massive outflow pipe down the beach to the sea, so in some ways it feels better. I don't actively think about these things, but on the other hand wouldn't go more than ankle deep in the water!
The cutting room floor
The fish had been dead for several hours - maybe even a day. It fell from blue into cold white, then swirled and disappeared.
The rush of cold water brought sudden darkness. Up, down, right, left, left, down. Trickle, rush, trickle. Cold, warm, smooth, fibrous, coarse or free-flowing, or all at once. Hours of tumbling through sludge and flood.
Smoother movement, a growing hum. An open chamber, then a thrashing of metal and pipes, thrusting fish, water and the rest, slowly climbing.
Finally there was light, murky green through the foulness of a dreadful lazy river. Whirring, grinding, slicing, then stillness.
The battered corpse settled in the soft sludge. Rest in peace.
