Back to the Beautiful (Water Memories) is a site-adaptive work that layers participatory encounters with the audience, video, and live performance to ruminate on borders, beauty, water, and memory.  Audiences move through an interactive installation that includes texts, videos, embodiment, and direct contact with water through ritual hand-washing and bottling of river water.

Back to the Beautiful (Water Memories) first premiered in Salzburg in 2017 and was inspired by the river Saalach, which forms the border between Germany and Austria, as a site of natural beauty and potential border tension. In 2018, it was adapted to center the San Lorenzo River, site of the last Chinatown in Santa Cruz, California, while addressing historical Chinese migration and xenophobia in the region. For its next incarnation in Maribor, Slovenia, we collaborated with local artists and audiences to integrate environmental, mythological, and border-based concerns related to the Drava River.  In 2019, we adapted Back to the Beautiful (Water Memories) to Gucchu Pani in Dehradun, India, where we collaborated with Varsha Dewan, the village community, and university students to highlight the river’s importance for anti-colonial freedom fighters, Shiva ascetic worship, and Gurkha history, while also acknowledging the impact of tourism and pollution. In December 2019, Back to the Beautiful (Water Memories) will be adapted for the river Isar in Munich.

CREDITS

Back to the Beautiful (Saalach)
Concept, Interaction, Performance, and Design: Sandra Chatterjee and Cynthia Ling Lee with long distance contributions from Shyamala Moorty and Meena Murugesan
Sound Design: Varsha Dewan
Video Design: Meena Murugesan
Additional Video Editing: Varsha Dewan
Videography: Sandra Chatterjee, Irina Dannenberg, Varsha Dewan, Cynthia Ling Lee, Meena Murugesan

Back to the Beautiful (Saalach/Cellar) was commissioned for a larger event entitled “Back to the Beautiful: Participatory and Performative Actions in Three Rooms.” The event involved artistic interventions by Sandra Chatterjee and Cynthia Ling Lee from the Post Natyam Collective, as well as by Tomaž Simatović and Tomaž Tomljanović.

Back to the Beautiful (San Lorenzo/Angel Island)
Concept and Creation: Sandra Chatterjee and Cynthia Ling Lee with long distance contributions from Shyamala Moorty and Meena Murugesan
Interaction and Performance: Cynthia Ling Lee
Sound Design: Anna Friz
Dramaturgy: Scott Trafton
Videography: Sandra Chatterjee, Cynthia Ling Lee, Meena Murugesan
Production Support: Zach Kopciak
Organizer: 3Girls Theatre Company

This performance of Back to the Beautiful (San Lorenzo/Angel Island) was part of a larger event called Lost Chinatowns presented by 3Girls Theatre Company at its 7th Annual New Works Festival, July 27-August 5 2018 at Z Below in San Francisco.

Back to the Beautiful (Drava)
Concept, Interaction, Performance: Sandra Chatterjee and Cynthia Ling Lee with long distance contributions from Shyamala Moorty and Meena Murugesan
Design: Sandra Chatterjee and Cynthia Ling Lee in collaboration with Toni Soprano Meneglejte
Video Design: Meena Murugesan
Additional Video Editing: Varsha Dewan, Cynthia Ling Lee
Videography: Sandra Chatterjee, Irina Dannenberg, Varsha Dewan, Cynthia Ling Lee, Meena Murugesan, Ramaida Osim
Translation: Katja Kosi
Organizers: Association Nagib and Narodni dom Maribor

Back to the Beautiful (Drava) was presented as part of the larger event “Back to the Beautiful: Participatory and Performative Actions in Three Rooms.”

Back to the Beautiful (Gucchu Pani)
Concept, Interaction, Performance: Sandra Chatterjee and Cynthia Ling Lee in collaboration with Varsha Dewan and with long distance contributions from Shyamala Moorty and Meena Murugesan
Design: Sandra Chatterjee and Cynthia Ling Lee in collaboration with Varsha Dewan
Video Design: Meena Murugesan
Video Editing: Bishal De, Varsha Dewan
Videography: Sandra Chatterjee, Irina Dannenberg, Varsha Dewan, Cynthia Ling Lee, Meena Murugesan, Ramaida Osim, Bishal De
Translation: Sudheer Deoli, Akshay Khanna
Organizer: Salt and Light Alternatives/Varsha Dewan

Partners and Financial Support:
Szene Salzburg and Kuratieren in den szenischen Künsten (University of Salzburg and LMU München); 3Girls Theatre Company, San Francisco, California; Hellman Fellowship; Association Nagib and Narodni dom Maribor; City of Munich Department of Arts and Culture; Austrian Cultural Forum Ljubljana, Municipality of Maribor, Ministry of Culture; Salt and Light Alternatives; Chinlin Foundation for Culture and Arts.