Site-specific installation based on the historic drought in 2023 in the Brazilian Amazon, in Tefé, where the waters of the river have reached 41 °C, killing hundreds of dolphins and increasing the socio-environmental crisis in the area.

Based on the analysis of satellite imagery and dialogues with scientists, the work adapts the course of the Tefé River onto the pavement of the Emílio Goeldi Zoobotanical Park, creating thermal representations of heat islands through the use of warm colors. This site-specific installation functions simultaneously as a reminder and a warning: rivers are sensitive witnesses to climate change, and we are increasingly close to experiencing irreversible damage.

This public artwork was presented as part of the exhibition A River Does Not Exist Alone, a project from the Tomie Ohtake Institute, during COP30 (the United Nations Climate Change Conference) in Belém, Pará, Brazil.

Curated by Sabrina Fontenele and Vânia Leal | Scientific Consulting: Ayan Flieshmann and Everaldo Barreiro | Production: Carolina Pasinato | Fabrication: Arcos Exposições | Local Assistance: Thayssa Ujimori | Photos: Ana Dias and Oswaldo Cruz | With thanks to the AkzoNobel team for their support and the development of custom colors for outdoor painting.