The Same River
spring 2009 | video composition

"You cannot step twice into the same river." —Heraclitus

The Providence River separates the East Side, where I live, from the Downtown area, where I work. Whenever I walk along the river, I cannot help myself from slowing down or stopping to observe. All winter I had been observing a group of ducks that have made the river their home—and just last week I caught a glimpse at 3 little ducklings that have joined them. Once a place of death and disease, the river has been cleaned up and has recently found new life as a place of wonder as tourists and residents alike flock to its banks for the WaterFire events all summer long.

As a tidal river, the Providence River actually changes direction according to the moon. It is a cycle of movement that causes seeming moments of frozen time, as objects (or birds) that float on its surface appear to be stuck swimming in place.