Gerdi Petanaj

AQUA MIRABILIS

In a secluded wooden shack nestled in the Ligurian hills, I found myself immersed in the rhythms of nature, surrounded by the whispers of streams and the gentle sway of beech trees. It was here that I discovered the profound connection between humanity and the natural world, a connection that transcends borders and invites us to peer through the cracks of our perception.

Aqua Mirabilis is an evolving immersive video installation that explores the contrasting temporalities of human artifice and the eternal flow of the natural world. The work features close-up, and often post-produced footage of water, captured from rivers in the Ligurian region of Italy, where I had an unconventional art residency in a friend's hut during the winter of 2018. The project has become a recurring feature at the Gran Galà Aleatorio, premiering in various forms nearly every year since its inception. Gran Galà Aleatorio is a special improvised event where musicians, artists, and enthusiasts gather to camp around the hut. It was here that I first shared my work with the public, projecting it onto the surrounding landscape. Drawing inspiration from the ancient Greek myth of Narcissus, I used his story as a lens to investigate the human condition as a mirror of nature, reflecting upon itself.

Video installation of the Bangkok version of Aqua Mirabilis in the Tissardine Cafè, Desert of Morocco, 2024.

Video installation of Aqua Mirabilis in the Chao Phraya river, Bangkok, 2024.

“And still deeper the meaning of that story of Narcissus, who because he could not grasp the tormenting, mild image he saw in the fountain, plunged into it and was drowned. But that same image, we ourselves see in all rivers and oceans. It is the image of the ungraspable phantom of life.”

- Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Gran Galà Aleatorio IX - Musecall (2019). “Cinema Eden”, projection of Aqua Mirabilis on the waterfall at night.