Artwork
OrtaWater - Urban intervention unit
Lucy + Jorge Orta, 2005
- Ref: 1303
- Materials: APE 50 Piaggio, steel structure, 15 life jackets, silk screen, 9 buckets, 8 taps
- Dimensions: 250hx320 x200 / 50 kg
- Catalogued: Lucy + Jorge Orta Antarctica, p137, Electa Italy; Lucy + Jorge Pattern Book, pp84-85, Black Dog Publishing, UK
- Exhibition history: 2005 Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa Venezia; 2005 Museum Boijmans van Beuningen Rotterdam; Gallery Continua Beijing; 2008 Hangar Bicocca Milano; Galleria Continua Le Moulin
- Courtesy: Courtesy the Artists and Galleria Continua San Gimignano / Beijing / Le Moulin
- Concept: On the theme of the environment, the artists have developed the project OrtaWater. The first presentation of this work was in 2005 and focuses on the theme of water scarcity and the effects of private interests and multinational corporations have on the possibility of universal access to clean water. Commissioned by Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa in Venice and conducted in collaboration with university and museum institutions, the project was based on a workshop approach, a practice often utilized by Lucy and 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 design possibilities for a sustainable near future.
