WATERMARK is a temporary intervention that draws attention to Cardiff’s forgotten historic canal system.
The work was commissioned by Cardiff Contemporary 2014.
In the Nineteenth century, the Glamorganshire canal ran through Cardiff, carrying iron, steel and coal to the docks from the valleys. Today, Cardiff’s canal system runs silent. Using an historic map as a guide Johana has redrawn part of the route of the Glamorganshire canal onto the pavement.
The path and dimensions of the canal were as true to that of the original canal as possible and specially designed stencils were used to ‘write’ the name and date of the canal onto the pavement beside it. The text was traced from a 17th Century map and could be viewed from the third floor of Cardiff Central library.
The artwork was durational and temporary and was visible for between 1-4 weeks and it eventually faded back into a memory.
