Life of Water

What is it to care for water? How can we open ourselves to listening to water? What is water telling us? Since 2010, Life of Water has been our conversation with different bodies of water and communities of people between Europe and Southern Africa, including at the Cradle of Humankind near Johannesburg and in the city of water, Venice. Through cycles of research and sequences of interactive installations, performances, film-making, and food sharing, we have co-evolved artful ways to encounter water as the source of life and a focus for collective idea-making and action.

Life of Water, Venice

In May 2019, we curated Life of Water as a one-day convivial happening as part of Alive in the Universe collective. During our residency in the city, we encountered people who are passionate about the city’s diverse cultures of artisan living, and who are campaigning to protect the delicate ecology of Venice, its hinterland of food gardens and the wider salt marshes of the lagoon. Through conversations, a collaboration emerged with glass-makers, farmers, chefs, activist-researchers and winemakers we offer a taste of the artisan through water, salt and soil. As ‘amici d'acqua’ caring for the life of water, this collective gathered as a convivial forum to exchange ways to respect the essential interconnections between nature and culture. Gratitude to Orsoni Venezia 1888, IeS Farm Sant’Erasmo, Yali Glass, Castello di Tassarolo Bio Winery, We Are Here Venice, Global Network of Water Museums and Centre for Contemporary Art and the Natural World.

 

Crucible donated by Orsoni and exhibited as part of Life of Water.

 
A wheelbarrow filled with uprooted plants and weeds, placed beside a dirt path in a green field with grass and trees in the background.
A man holding a bag of plants or flowers by a canal with historic brick buildings in the background.
Collection of potted plants with yellow flowers, some with green leaves, arranged on the ground against a decorated wall.
A blue boat docked at a canal in Venice, Italy, with green plants growing inside, and brick buildings with ivy and several poles along the water's edge.

Central to Life of Water, Venice, is our on-going collaboration with Savino and Ilaria Cimorosta, co-founders of I&S ecological farm on the island of Sant Erasmo. This island historically fed the city of Venice and Savino and Ilaria are the last remaining farmers to bring fresh produce by boat to sell in Venice. We were honoured to exbitit their soil and plants and share tastes of their artichokes and asparagus as part of the evening’s forum.

“Venice was built on its lagoon system, which sheltered its inhabitants and allowed them to plant their poles, sustaining Life above the Sea.
Venice is a living entity, rich and complex with Life.
Built by Man and Nature together.
Its salt marshes are its lungs, its respiratory system, constantly inhaling and exhaling both Air and Water.
They keep Venice alive, connecting it with the world.
Its people are its hearth, its cardiovascular system, allowing the fruits of its Land to circulate and feeding its many Fires.
Their constant shouts and hums are its thousand heartbeats.
Atensiòn!"

Poetic intervention by Pietro Pietro Consolandi, co-founder with Fabio Cavallari of Collettivo Barena Bianca and collaborator with We Are Here Venice.

A person lighting a candle on a table with plants around it, against a textured wall.
A woman with curly hair wearing a black blazer and blue jeans, standing and speaking in front of a white curtain backdrop with plants and flowers beside her, in a room with tiled flooring and a small table covered with a dark blue cloth.
Group of people sitting on chairs and listening in a dimly lit room with curtains, with glass dishes on the floor in front of them.

Savino Cimorosto lighting the Soil Shrine: Massimiliana Spinola introducing her biodynamic wines from Castello di Tassarolo Bio Winery; participants within the forum.

Life of Water, Cradle of Humankind

A woman with short curly hair walking along a grassy trail in a natural setting, carrying a woven basket.
A woman is handing a small item to a woman holding a child, while a man stands between them, smiling. Several other people are in the background, outdoors near a lake with trees, indicating a gathering or celebration.
Rows of shot glasses filled with liquid on a wooden bench outdoors near a pond.

In 2012, we were invited to join the Re-Birth collective show at NIROX Foundation in the Cradle of Humankind. For this expression of Life of Water, we gathered water from an ancient underground aquifer to create the form of the Third Infinity - a symbol shared by Michelangelo Pistoletto of the Pistoletto Foundation. Visitors to the group show were invited to taste the water at the moment of sunset.

“The Third Paradise is the great myth that leads everyone to take personal responsibility in the global vision. The term “paradise” comes from the Ancient Persian and means “protected garden”. We are the gardeners who must protect this planet and heal the human society inhabiting it.” Michelangelo Pistoletto