With this title for our exhibition we are referring to a piece of land in southern Spain, that is part of the ancient irrigation system of the times of Al Andalus, but that is at the very same time confronted with a totally unknown future. BETWEEN AN ANCIENT PAST AND AN UNKNOWN FUTURE. The factors of uncertainty are huge and many:
What about tiny agricultural parcels when our consume is dependent on the fastest and cheapest harvesting and maintaining practices that are created by huge machines in huge monocultural fields?
What about an ancient but local irrigation system, when billions of litres of water are implemented in the very same region from a river that has a distance of several hundreds kilometers?
What about to an ancient but local irrigation system, when climate change is producing more and longer droughts so that it is not possible anymore to transport billons of litres of water from other regions?
What about agricultural land when the old ones are too old to maintain it and the young ones do not want to maintain it? What about agricultural land when we do not have agricultural knowledge?
———
“January water, every drop is worth money” / “Come rainy February, even if it comes furious” / “March of heavy rains, a very unhappy year” / “In April, a thousand waters and they all fit in a barrel” / “Water in May, bread for the whole year” / “Water in June, misfortune” / “In July the boy, from the azequia to the pot” / “Water in August, saffron, honey and must” / „September, or carries the bridges or dries the fountains” / “Rainy October, copious year” / “San Andrés, water or snow will bring” / “December, ice and snow if you want to have a good year next year”.
——–
Humans have always sought out temperate climates because they show the least abrupt changes. However, this normally dry climate has the disadvantage of a lack of water, an essential element for the development of agriculture and sedentary life. Irrigation of the land required collective efforts for the collection and distribution of water, the construction and maintenance of waterworks and efficient political and social organization. This aspect can therefore be seen as one of the origins of civilization, namely man‘s attempt to overcome the limits of geography.
The Blanca irrigation system as we know it today appears to have originated in the 16th century, although it already existed during a period in the Middle Ages.
——-
We briefly met a direct neighbor on our way back from a visit to the site. He was there with his son, who drove him to his garden. He is already a bit older and was wondering what we were doing there, next to his parcel: We explained our approach but he did not really understand (did we?), and, instead told us about the wild boars and goats that come down the mountain every evening to drink water from the neighbors‘ pool as it is so dry at the moment. The son was only there to drive him there, he did not seem to be involved in the garden and with the work that is connected with its maintenance. The meeting ended with the son sending his father down to do what he had to do there. While the son waited upstairs for his father, we made our way home and were discussing, how long he will be able to maintain his parcel. The next time, the neighbor came alone, on his motorcycle, to cut his olive trees.
.
Fabian Pimpl & Paula Haentjes
Urban Designers based in Hamburg
Critical Spatialities Residency Programm 2024
Blanca, Murcia – Spain
WHAT ABOUT 4774784849?
With this title for our exhibition we are referring to a piece of land in southern Spain, that is part of the ancient irrigation system of the times of Al Andalus, but that is at the very same time confronted with a totally unknown future. BETWEEN AN ANCIENT PAST AND AN UNKNOWN FUTURE. The factors of uncertainty are huge and many:
What about tiny agricultural parcels when our consume is dependent on the fastest and cheapest harvesting and maintaining practices that are created by huge machines in huge monocultural fields?
What about an ancient but local irrigation system, when billions of litres of water are implemented in the very same region from a river that has a distance of several hundreds kilometers?
What about to an ancient but local irrigation system, when climate change is producing more and longer droughts so that it is not possible anymore to transport billons of litres of water from other regions?
What about agricultural land when the old ones are too old to maintain it and the young ones do not want to maintain it? What about agricultural land when we do not have agricultural knowledge?
———
“January water, every drop is worth money” / “Come rainy February, even if it comes furious” / “March of heavy rains, a very unhappy year” / “In April, a thousand waters and they all fit in a barrel” / “Water in May, bread for the whole year” / “Water in June, misfortune” / “In July the boy, from the azequia to the pot” / “Water in August, saffron, honey and must” / „September, or carries the bridges or dries the fountains” / “Rainy October, copious year” / “San Andrés, water or snow will bring” / “December, ice and snow if you want to have a good year next year”.
——–
Humans have always sought out temperate climates because they show the least abrupt changes. However, this normally dry climate has the disadvantage of a lack of water, an essential element for the development of agriculture and sedentary life. Irrigation of the land required collective efforts for the collection and distribution of water, the construction and maintenance of waterworks and efficient political and social organization. This aspect can therefore be seen as one of the origins of civilization, namely man‘s attempt to overcome the limits of geography.
The Blanca irrigation system as we know it today appears to have originated in the 16th century, although it already existed during a period in the Middle Ages.
——-
We briefly met a direct neighbor on our way back from a visit to the site. He was there with his son, who drove him to his garden. He is already a bit older and was wondering what we were doing there, next to his parcel: We explained our approach but he did not really understand (did we?), and, instead told us about the wild boars and goats that come down the mountain every evening to drink water from the neighbors‘ pool as it is so dry at the moment. The son was only there to drive him there, he did not seem to be involved in the garden and with the work that is connected with its maintenance. The meeting ended with the son sending his father down to do what he had to do there. While the son waited upstairs for his father, we made our way home and were discussing, how long he will be able to maintain his parcel. The next time, the neighbor came alone, on his motorcycle, to cut his olive trees.