Hello Doll!

Thanks for commenting on my posting … I’m glad that someone did, and actually picked up on one of the broad generalisations of my succinctness! In my statement regarding my research I actually should have re-formed that sentence to say ‘the apparent observation that water may hold a memory for frequency’ instead of ‘water holds a memory for frequency’. This will serve me right in pasting my AHRC statement into my blog; as you may know we are limited to 500 words to describe our entire project and I should have re-adjusted that sentence for more succinct general information.

Anyway, what I mean by ‘water memory’ is a current theory that suggests that water can ‘record’ the vibrational frequency of energy which may be electromagnetic, acoustic or biologically reactive (such as the bodies ability to produce adrenalin) in nature. The cause of this is unknown but is hypothesised that it is to do with the many hydrogen bonds in water and the fact that this molecule is essentially a dipole. The theory of ‘memory’ is unproved scientifically, but there is a large body of experimental data that suggests that this should be studied in a more rigorous fashion, and (in my opinion) removed from the pseudoscience ‘quack’ bracket that it has been put into… after all, for how long did we believe that the earth was flat?! Many propositions of quantum physics are being proved within the lifetime of the scientists that first proposed them; given that some of the theories (this is general) that observation (or intention/attention) will alter the outcome of an experiment on a quantum level, it is not such a strange thought that water may have an ability for remembering experience?

Nonetheless, I am an artist and not a scientist, and am more driven by the potential, artistic interpretation and translation of a concept rather than proving its ‘truth’ or non-truth as the case may be. The fact that water may have the potential to ‘hold’ a frequency (enhanced by chemical compounds contained in water such as substrates) adds to the mythological side of my investigation and the fact that I am ‘performing’ or placing myself in certain situations of study, whereby (it could be said that) I am subverting the use of scientific methodology to produce an exploration of a topic that is mythical, anecdotal and literary in nature; thus enabling a questioning of the role of knowledge production in art?

The main scientist in the proposition that water has a memory was Dr Jaques Benveniste. Interestingly he was also the proposer of ‘Digital Biology’ whereby he proposed that the frequencies of certain reactions in the body, could be recorded and broadcast via the internet. Given that the body is mainly water, this in concept meant that medicines could be administered via a computer file and dowload?!!!!! My mind vibrates at the artistic potential of this… you lucky artist coders! I hope that I will be able to meet some of you face to face one day, so that we can talk about realisations of projects that question things such as this!

The ‘memory of water’ fascinates me. It makes sense (to me) of the experiences of the divers on the wreck, and the fact that they may just be ‘re-playing’ certain elements of the divers that were in the water hours before them! Thus the ‘hauntings’ that manifest themselves in acoustics, lights and ‘presences’ felt are actually just an echo that is enhanced by the placebo of myth. There is a theory called the Stone Tape Theory, this name coined by a 1970’s play, whereby the walls or stones of buildings hold memories of energy that are only released by a person that is vibrating on the same frequency; in essence ‘starting’ the tape of the echo. Everything vibrates at its own frequency. Joyce Hinterding would tell you this also! Its just a matter of developing an objective framework within (or outwith) the framework (called science) that already exists… such an easy thing to do!

I've created some links in the original posting... hope you find them of interest.

Lindsay