As it is often the case with Katinka Bock’s work in the public arena, Parasite Fountain has both a poetic and a direct relationship with its environment. The catfish cast in bronze, raised up on a pillar, ensures a moist environment. More of a leak in the system than a fountain, the sculpture has a rather parasitical existence: It takes water from a neighboring fountain and does not return it to its original circuit.
A catfish found by the artist, devoid of life under the Wettstein Bridge in Basel on a cold January day becomes a classical fountain figure. It is neither attractive nor digestible, but it is noted for the fact that it continues to increase in size until it dies. The endless and boundless nature of the catfish and water takes on shape and posture in Parasite Fountain, feeding off the existing system and delighting in the overabundance.
