Collis and Donadio have created a multi-faceted portrait of Forum Fountain, a Brutalist-inspired public sculpture located behind Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in East Baltimore. The culminating installation expands the life of Forum Fountain and features immersive video projection and sound. Architecture can be an extension of the physical self: Buildings tell us about our bodies, both personal and social, and structure our experiences and behaviors. Singular Space serves as a multi-sensory palimpsest, reminding us that public space is mutable and cannot be erased- even in the face of continual destruction or neglect.

Dismantled in late 2016, McKeldin Fountain was part of Baltimore's urban landscape for over three decades. An unembellished Brutalist structure, it was poetically designed to evoke natural rock formations of the Susquehanna River, fusing natural ecology and modern design into the heart of downtown. A designated free-speech zone, McKeldin was home to Occupy Baltimore in 2011 and Black Lives Matter protests in 2015.

As a collaborative audio-visual project, Collis and Donadio documented the fountain's last days to conjure a meditation on the essence of this urban landmark. Using projection-mapping software, video shot on-site traverses large sculptural forms that reference shapes of the fountain itself, culminating in a sensory memorial experience.

excerpt of Jewels of the River

Except of Food Cycle.

“Food Cycle” is a composition in the suite, Water Sonettos. It is one of three short constructs that elaborate upon the matrix of life, water. The video traces relationships between water and food production on several continents. The soundtrack is composed of field recordings and Le Prophete, a Bel canto opera, sung by Sigrid Onegin. The long passages of simple melody alternate with elaborate vocal scrollwork to heighten the dramatic meaning and the urgency of our potential water crisis.