Filmmaker Lucy Raven Captures Dramatic Dam Removal in New Film

Raven's latest work "Murderers Bar" is the final part of a trilogy exploring matter in different states of pressure and release.

Published on Mar. 9, 2026

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Artist Lucy Raven's latest film work "Murderers Bar" (2025) captures the dramatic removal of a dam in the Pacific Northwest and the release of water that forms a newly born river rushing from Oregon through Northern California to the Pacific Ocean. The 42-minute piece is the final part of Raven's "The Drumfire" trilogy, which also includes the 2021 film "Ready Mix" and the 2022 films "Demolition of a Wall (Album 1 & 2)".

Why it matters

Raven's trilogy explores the role of water in shaping the United States, particularly in the West, and the complex processes involved in both building and dismantling major infrastructure. The removal of the dam on the Klamath River represents one of the largest such projects ever undertaken, raising questions about the language and implications around "infra-destruction" versus infrastructure construction.

The details

To film "Murderers Bar", Raven used a range of techniques including high-speed video, drone footage with the horizon intentionally destabilized, and cameraless "shadowgram" images inspired by 19th century photographer Étienne-Jules Marey's experiments with fluid dynamics. The resulting film aims to convey a sense of the massive scale and energy release of the dam removal, as well as the transformation of the landscape as the river is reborn.

  • The dam removal project along the Klamath River in the Pacific Northwest took place over the past couple of years.
  • "Murderers Bar" is currently on view at the Power Plant in Toronto through March 22, 2026 and will travel to the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston for an exhibition starting May 20, 2026.

The players

Lucy Raven

An artist whose film work captures dramatic infrastructure projects and the forces of nature, including the removal of a dam in the Pacific Northwest.

Yancey Caldwell

The director of photography who worked with Raven on all three films in "The Drumfire" trilogy, including "Murderers Bar".

Candice Hopkins

A curator who discussed with Raven the lack of language around the "infra-destruction" of infrastructure, which became generative for Raven's thinking on the dam removal project.

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What they’re saying

“There is not a word for taking down infrastructure. We have so much language around the building of infrastructure, but we don't really have infra-destruction language.”

— Candice Hopkins, Curator

What’s next

"Murderers Bar" will continue touring to additional venues after its showings in Toronto and Boston.

The takeaway

Raven's "Murderers Bar" film explores the dramatic transformation of the landscape and the complex processes involved in dismantling major infrastructure, raising important questions about how we conceptualize and describe the removal of such structures versus their construction.