On the floodplain that lies between the Werdersee and Weser in Bremen, Germany was installed a lone kayak facing the Weser coastline. Lashed to the back of the kayak is a suitcase with a luggage tag stating “Bremen to NYC via Bremerhaven”.

This ostensibly empty field in Bremen was the site of a devastating flood in 1981. Like most of the city, this field is quietly braced against the force of water, part of the city’s massive infrastructure for moving and controlling water if it were to encroach again. Yet, floods also can bring renewal, revitalizing soil and creating new habitats, as in the case of this particular floodplain which is at once a part of the city’s water defenses and a nature protection zone.

Here at this site, the artwork asks visitors to reflect on the prospect of a flood which may one day come – to sit in the kayak and imagine the water coming, where it came from and where it will go. And then, imagine the kayak slowly rising with the water, floating into the werdersee into the Weser, to Bremerhaven and then across the ocean to New York. With this absurd speculative possibility, the work claims that: A flood will come. And when it does, it will certainly be difficult but who knows what new possibilities could arise?

This project was supported by the Hochschule für Künste Bremen Freundeskreis and the Bremen Senator für Kultur's office.

Spring 2025