As the heatwave hits water reserves and crops, artists will be keeping the wet stuff centre-stage at a thought-provoking installation on Aldeburgh Beach.
Suffolk-based Flora Gathorne-Hardy and Miche Fabre Lewin, of Touchstones arts and ecology practice, will be looking at the Life of Water through a range of mediums including films, literature, tastings, music and dance on Saturday, July 28, from 11am to 4pm.
The exhibition, at Aldeburgh Beach South Lookout, includes an installation on two levels – in the gallery space and on the beach, and high up in the lookout tower
Miche, who along with Flora has been artist in residence at the Lookout since July 23, said: “During the week, we have been exploring our relationship to water and its importance for the health of our bodies and the body of the planet.
“Over the days, we have been gathering water from different bodies of water, including a borehole bringing water up from the water table, a pond filled by rainwater, the River Alde as it runs through farmland and in the estuary, bath water and used household water, samples from a recycling plant and water gathered from the North Sea at Aldeburgh beach.
“By making visible all these different sources, we are looking to have conversations with people and share experiences about the matter of water to discover how we can all be part of taking responsibility and become water guardians at every stage of the living cycle of water.”
The artists are research associates at the Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience (CAWR) at Coventry University.
Its director, Professor Michel Pimbert said: “At CAWR, we are committed to bringing together the social and natural sciences with the place-based knowledge of farmers, water-users, men, women and children, and citizens generally.”
The timely exhibition is supported by Anglian Water’s Keep it Clear programme, which aims to show how important the water recycling process is and how to safeguard it in homes, schools and workplaces.
The scheme’s community engagement manager Collette Parker said: “Engaging with communities on these essential messages in a variety of ways is vital.”
The Life of Water residency forms part of ‘Alive in the Universe’, an ongoing multi-media arts initiative curated by Caroline Wiseman.
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