Artwork
OrtaWater - MIU Mobile Reservoir
Lucy + Jorge Orta, 2005-2007
- Ref: 1351
- Materials: APE 50 Piaggio, steel structure, water drum, 24 aluminum flasks, copper taps, rubber pipes, 28 OrtaWater bottles, 21 textile hands, felt blankets with webbing
- Dimensions: Piaggio 263 x 126 x 161cm; Steel Frame 185 x 120 x 70cm
- Catalogued: Lucy + Jorge Orta: Food Water Life, Princeton Architectural Press, NY, pp. 86-87; Lucy + Jorge Orta: Antarctica, Electa, pg 52
- Exhibition history: 2008 Hangar Bicocca Milan, Italy; Galleria Continue Le Moulin, France; 2007 Galleria Continua San Gimignano, Italy
- Courtesy: The Artists
- Concept: OrtaWater focuses on the theme of water shortage and the effects of private interests and multinational corporations have on the possibility of universal access to potable water. Commissioned by Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa and conducted in collaboration with university and museum institutions, the project was based on a workshop approach, a practice often utilized by Lucy + Jorge Orta, involving students and artists in an open process of participation. The results included a series of Mobile Intervention Units and installations, to rethink the cycle of purification, gathering and distribution of water. From everyday useful objects like containers and garments designed and adapted to transport the precious liquid, to more complex structures like boats supplied with filtering systems, the OrtaWater prototypes suggest new possibilities for a sustainable future.
