The Stony One
Susanne Lambert (UK, 2026)
4 min
This work was created for Flow - a project of artists interpreting the River Lech - a project by Dr Martina Cecchetto, with the scientific contribution of Dr Florian Betz and the artistic curation of Riccardo Fumagalli, in collaboration with Cities & Memory, the University of Padua (Italy), and the University of Würzburg (Germany).
I was intrigued by the changing relationship between humans and river, and the different uses of the natural flowing water in this place. I discovered Augsburg is one of the oldest settled places in Germany (around 2000 years). This fuelled my imagination in considering the scale and scope of change- within both humanity, and the natural environment, that the river has borne witness to over time. I was really struck by the impact of human activity on the river, not least the disruption of its natural flow and use of the Lech for multiple hydro-power plants along its course.
I took a walk along several stretches of the water in and around Augsburg and my overwhelming sense was that it needed our care and attention and that we have a responsibility to the guardianship of its course. Within the composition I wanted to depict contrasting sensations that I felt portrayed something of the complexities of this stretch of river, its history, its present and its future, including flux, chaos, beauty, dischord/disharmony and solidarity.
Working with my long-standing collaborator and dear friend, Nicky Rushton, we shared ideas and musical parts back and forth, and spoke about different aspects of the piece, and slowly over quite some time, the elements that seeemed to belong, began to emerge. We were both interested in the sense of the multiplicity of layers that comprise a river and its environment, thinking vertically as well as horizontally along its course.
Section of the river Lech reimagined by Suzi Lamb and Nicky Rushton.
Composed & produced by Suzi Lamb with Nicky Rushton