Alina Schmuch: Mouth of the Waterway

In her artist’s book Mouth of the Waterway, Alina Schmuch explores the hidden infrastructures of water and their relationship to photographic images. The project begins with an artistic investigation into canal systems, waterways, and the largely invisible networks that run through our cities and landscapes.

The book is based on a remounting of historical photographs from the archive of the Emschergenossenschaft and traces how industrial interventions—particularly mining and wastewater management—have fundamentally reshaped the landscape of the Ruhr region. Moving between documentation, visual essay, and critical reflection, the project reveals a landscape that can no longer be understood as “nature,” but rather as a permanently engineered environment shaped by technical infrastructures.

Mouth of the Waterway asks how photography can render such hidden spaces visible and what role images play in grasping the complex infrastructures that shape our environment in the Anthropocene.

Alina Schmuch works with photography, film, and artist’s books. Her projects explore the intersections of landscape, infrastructure, and technology. Beny Wagner is an artist, filmmaker, and writer. His work examines historical and technological transformations of bodies, environments, and systems of knowledge. Jan Wenzel is a writer and publisher based in Leipzig and co-founder of Spector Books. He also works as an editor and curator. Britta Peters is a curator and cultural scholar focusing on art in public space. Since 2018 she has been Artistic Director of Urbane Künste Ruhr.