Cyril de Commarque (b1970) believes in the theory of progress acceleration: that we can’t change the technological progress that is going on around us at an exponential rate. But, as a result, changes in society are no longer democratic, he says: they are decided neither by the politicians, nor the people, but happen as a result of mobile phones and social media and who knows what else. “The only space for freedom we can gain is inside ourselves,” de Commarque concludes, remaining adamant of the need to dream of a new utopia, despite its inherent risks.

Having previously worked with architectural projects and social and political subjects, including migration and the evolution of political and geographical borders, de Commarque has spent three years working on Fluxland, converting a 1950s Dutch grain barge into a 25-metre-long, interactive artwork, sound piece and space for debate. The name derives from his interest in borders, but also the Fluxus movement in art, and his belief that art has a function, to reveal to people the necessity of taking action, and not becoming the victim of politics. As part of Totally Thames, the boat will sail up and down the river, attracting audiences, who will hear the battle cries of revolutions and the speeches both of dictators and of peace, emanating from the speakers, and then come closer to see themselves reflected in the mirrored surfaces. This upper part of the barge is constructed out of two polyhedrons – the symbol of melancholia – and will reflect both the river and the onlookers, inviting them to look inside, both the vessel and themselves. As de Commarque says: “You have to go inside of yourself and accept the humility to think: ‘Am I doing the right thing for a better world?’”

Throughout the month, a series of conferences will be hosted on board, in association with Art Review. These will feature other artists, economists, philosophers and a nanotechnologist, all invited to discuss future utopian projects.

• Fluxland will be on the Thames as part of Totally Thames festival until 30 September 2016. For visiting times, visit fluxland.co.uk

Interview by ANNA McNAY
Filmed by MARTIN KENNEDY

As part of this year’s annual Totally Thames festival, which sees a series of arts and cultural events taking place on London’s riverbanks, New York artist Anita Glesta has brought a mesmerising projection of brightly coloured, circling fish to the National Theatre’s Lyttleton Flytower, visible from across the water, as well as from the popular South Bank and the theatre’s river terrace below.

The work has been in development since 2009, when Glesta was asked to make a piece in collaboration with Art_Port and the UN for the COP15 summit on climate change in Copenhagen. In 2013, a previous version of Watershed was projected on the wall of St Patrick’s Basilica in Lower Manhattan during the New Museums Ideas City Festival. This version used carp as its dancers. For the London version, Glesta travelled to Colombia to film the Amazonian pirarucu fish, which is almost on the verge of extinction. She is interested, she says, in using fish for their multipurpose characteristics.

The circling motion is something that appears in a lot of Glesta’s works, often representing women and planets. These metaphorical readings could be carried over to Watershed as well, but the work also functions on a much more literal and didactic level. As Glesta explains: “I would like this work to be a vehicle of communication, literally like a moving-image billboard.” She has carried out a lot of research into climate change and water levels, thinking specifically about the island of Manhattan, floating in the mouth of the ocean. After London, Glesta – a painter and sculptor by trade, but one who loves this digital medium for its bringing together of painting, sculpture and architecture – is taking the work back to New York, where it will become part of a much larger project. She also hopes to tour it internationally.

Anita Glesta: Watershed
Lyttelton Flytower, National Theatre, London
22-27 September 2015

Interview by ANNA McNAY
Filmed by MARTIN KENNEDY