The Water Arch
The Water Arch is an immersive art installation that playfully draws attention to the ever-increasing use of clean drinking water. The work is an abstract interpretation of a classic Dutch barrel organ. By turning a big wheel, the organ comes to life and plays songs from long-forgotten days, while water is pumped up through a system of tubes and bubbles.
36 gallons
The water eventually collects in a large container above your head. At 36 gallons / 134 liters the water is released. Protected by a large transparent dome, you experience in an instant how much water that is. Because 36 gallons is the amount that every person in The Netherlands uses every day on average. In the USA this goes up to 82 gallons / 310 liters* per day person.
The music is an adaptation of a recording of a famous barrel organ from the 1950s and 1960s from the archive of the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision. * www.drinkwaterplatform.nl / www.epa.gov
Tour
In 2023, the installation travelled through the United States of America for a presentation at the renowned SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, followed by New York City Water Week at the South Street Seaport Museum. Also it was presented at the Impakt Festival in Poznan, Poland.
In 2024 The Water Arch will be on show at the Zuiderzeemuseum in Enkhuizen The Netherlands, related to the ‘Water Wijs‘ Exhibition curated by Tracy Metz. (March 29 – October 15 2024)
