Green River (1998), a series of public interventions by Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson, uses Uranine as a visualization tool to raise questions about pollution and ecological preservation. Eliasson’s work emphasizes the crucial role of visibility in confronting ecological issues. Yet in Los Angeles, the intervention went largely unnoticed, revealing the paradoxes and challenges of water management. Eliasson’s fluorescent green intervention not only visualizes pollution but also exposes the intertwined social and environmental injustices within the landscape, challenging the viewer to reconsider the long-term implications of urban water management.
The channelization of 52 miles of the Los Angeles River was once celebrated for mitigating flood risk to the region. Prior to channelization, the river was a turbulent and uncontrollable force, its unpredictable floods sweeping through the landscape and wreaking havoc on property. Following a series of economically devastating floods in the 1930s, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) encased the river in concrete, replacing its volatility with a rigid, engineered channel. Under the Flood Control Act of 1936, the district undertook the massive task of pouring more than 2,000,000 cubic yards of concrete, transforming the river from its natural, meandering state into a rigid, engineered channel. However, this design reflected the flood risks of the 1930s and 1940s, not those of today.
Engineering reports of the Los Angeles River, following a flood in 1938.
With urbanization and the spread of impervious surfaces, the region today faces heightened runoff. Where once natural vegetation and soil absorbed rainwater, moderating floods, the intensified runoff now exacerbates flood risks and disrupts the river’s delicate hydrological balance. Adding to these challenges, climate change has reshaped precipitation patterns, intensifying both the frequency and severity of extreme weather events.The region is particularly vulnerable to atmospheric rivers—narrow bands of concentrated moisture in the atmosphere that can deliver intense rainfall in brief bursts—and this phenomenon can lead to rapid and severe flooding due. Recent events, like mudslides and flooding in Southern California, have shown that past water management strategies, once sufficient, are now proving inadequate against the intensified runoff and more extreme weather patterns wrought by climate change. Thus, the historical flood control measures, once deemed a triumph, now underscore the pressing need for a new paradigm in managing Los Angeles' evolving environmental challenges and current climate conditions.
The Los Angeles River swollen from stormwater runoff, due to an atmospheric river in February, 2024.
Eliasson’s use of Uranine in his work addresses the invisibility of pollution. Fluorescein (C20H12O5), commonly known as Uranine (UR) in its disodium salt form, allows for the visualization of the hydrologic landscape, revealing what might otherwise be invisible to the naked eye. UR, considered an effective flow tracer in hydrological studies, is generally deemed non-toxic to aquatic and human life at low concentrations. However, it poses a long-term risk of environmental contamination at high levels. The transformation processes of UR have not been extensively studied, and its pollution risks remain uncertain. One study found that while UR undergoes minimal degradation, it is resistant to microbial breakdown and is therefore not fully biodegradable. Although Eliasson believed he was using a non-toxic medium to create Green River, his intervention likely contributed to the pollution of the river. The fluorescent green hue, initially intended as an abstraction, ultimately became the pollution of the Los Angeles River. This suggests that ecological interventions, like Green River, intended to heighten environmental awareness, might carry unintended consequences that remain unrecognized—or perhaps, deliberately overlooked.
A researcher pours Uranine tracer into the estavelle in Schwarzwasser Valley, Austria.
The significance of Green River lies not just in its vibrant color but in what it reveals about other hidden realities of the Los Angeles River. Tucked away between industrial zones and residential neighborhoods, the marginalized communities of East LA—historically Hispanic and Asian populations as well as unhoused individuals who often seek shelter along the top of the channel—bear the burden of living near the polluted water source that is largely hidden from public view. Industrial activities, urban runoff, and inadequate infrastructure have concentrated pollutants in these areas, resulting in poorer air quality and serious health issues, including respiratory problems, skin conditions, and other chronic illnesses. The limited access to healthcare in these communities exacerbates these health challenges. The segregation of the riparian landscape has effectively obscured the harsh realities of industrial pollution, waste disposal, and even the misuse of Uranine. As a result, these environmental harms remain hidden, while those who live closest to the river's edge, distanced from the concerns of the wider public, quietly endure the consequences.
Eliasson’s fluorescent intervention aimed to provide visualization of these environmental and social injustices. But in Los Angeles, the green dye faded quickly, leaving behind little more than a fleeting memory. The public’s indifference back in 1998 reflects a broader tendency to overlook the struggles of those living on the margins. While Green River succeeded in drawing attention to ecological concerns, it fell short in confronting the deeper human stories embedded in the river’s decline. The work raises a critical question: Can interventions like this truly grapple with the complexities of environmental justice if they fail to give voice to those most affected? In the case of East LA, the pollution remains, as do the people enduring it. The limitations of Eliasson’s work point to a need for something more—an ecological art that not only reveals but also engages with the communities at the core of these crises.
Olafur Eliasson’s Green River employs Uranine to provide representation of the injustices within the Los Angeles River’s polluted waters and mismanaged infrastructure—while ironically adding to the river's pollution it critiques. It highlights how ecological interventions can have unintended consequences, emphasizing the need for transparent and effective environmental policies. The gaps within the current frameworks of river management, shaped by outdated infrastructure and compounded impacts of climate change, reflect deeper societal failings rooted in segregation and injustice. The fluorescent green intervention reveals the transient nature of urban landscapes and the persistent need for adaptive, effective water management. Through this work, Eliasson advocates for ecological justice and fosters a discourse for a more nuanced approach to environmental stewardship.
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Essay in criticism of Olafur Eliasson’s Green River (1998), for Transscalaraties. Instructor: Andres Jacque, TA: Malcolm Rio