13–19 June 2025
Monica Narula in conversation with Andy Franzkowiak
2–3.15pm Friday 13 June 2025 | Orleans House Gallery, London
Raqs Media Collective are working with Invisible Dust to present a trail of augmented reality poems along the regularly flooding Thames riverside path, 'The Tideway', as part of Richmond Arts & Ideas Festival 2025.
Set against the backdrop of the river's extreme tides–rising up to seven metres–the works resonate with Richmond's deep ties to the Thames and its shifting, often unpredictable nature.
Developed through conversations with scientists at UCL in conjunction with the Royal Docks, the poems weave together references to detritus, data, trade, and capital–tracing the turbulent currents of ecological and economic systems. But just as crucially, they speak to the inner tides of the body, especially tears, linking planetary flux with human emotion.
Set along a route from Richmond Bridge to Eel Pie island, the poems appear over the water of the Thames when you scan a QR code with your smartphone.
On Friday 13 June, Monica Narula of Raqs Media Collective will be in conversation with Andy Franzkowiak, Custodian of the Cultural Reforesting programme and Arts Direction of Richmond Arts & Ideas Festival. The event will be chaired by Jeanine Griffin, Curator at Invisible Dust.
