Flotsam Weirs helped to bring a renewed consciousness to the people and visitors of Williamsburg about the Mill River as a beautiful and wild asset at the centers of Williamsburg and Haydenville. Taking the woven fences used for millennia to capture fish as inspiration, these fences respond to the soundscapes, history and ecology of the site’s context. With the art installation, people can learn about and experience the power of hydrology, the resilience of ecology and the beauty that environmental sculpture can bring to sites. Over time they can return to the site and witness the passage of time and ecological process manifest in the decay of the structures.
The weirs move through the site along the existing informal path and are segmented to allow passage of wildlife, people and heavy volumes of water. The pieces vary in size and composition, and are spontaneous responses to materials (all sourced on site), views and context. As environmental sculpture, they become part of the site’s context, gradually decaying and merging back into the landscape. The project was funded in part by the Williamsburg Cultural Council.