Twisted railings found partially submerged during the restoration of Crossness, & large spanners. Courtesy John Ridley & Crossness Engines Trust Archive.
Outfall is an ongoing research project, commissioned by TACO! in partnership with the heritage site of Crossness. The project considers production and waste and ideas of flow and stagnation, as starting points for exploring the city as both a body and ecosystem.
The project is based on site at Crossness, working with material both from the Crossness archive and elsewhere, developing sculptural and discursive responses. Through archival research, sculptural and audio experiments, the project explores the city as both body and ecosystem and our relationship to it. The research is accessible on an ongoing basis, at Crossness in the form of a sited ‘ sculptural reading display’. Further information and collections of materials are also presented via the Outfall website.
Completed in 1865, Crossness Pumping Station is a magnificent Grade 1 Listed industrial heritage site and unique visitor attraction. It was built by Sir Joseph Bazalgette as part of the first, city-wide sewage system for Victorian London and harnessed the power of the tidal Thames to transport waste along the estuary and out to sea. Crossness was built in response to increasing cases of Cholera and other water bourne diseases and is celebrated for its engineering achievement. This massive structural project was driven not just by human bodily functions and needs, but also by tiny bacteria shaping human society, and the city.