Caretto & Spagna explore the many faces of the river, from the Ill’s source in Winkel to its confluence with the Rhine in Gambsheim, via the karst resurgence* in Ligsdorf and its symbiosis with the Rhine-Rhône canal in the town of Illfurth. The artists observe the mutations of the wild Ill, the adolescent Ill, the canalized Ill, reflecting on different aspects of its uses and the industrial history of Alsace. During their wanderings, they glean residues from the river’s “layer of wildness”**, then take them to be combusted. Clay from a nearby quarry (Durlinsdorf) is used to care for and repair the river, helping to energize its banks.

* Where the Ill underground riverway resurfaces.
** Defined by the artists as the return—to the surface—of a river to its wild state.