Lifeguard - OrtaWater
Date:
2005
Ref:
0923
Materials:
Inflatable life ring, various, OrtaWater objects, aluminium coated polyamide, PU coated polyamide, clips, webbing, silkscreen print
Dimensions:
180 x 270 x 290cm
Catalogued:
p90 Lucy + Jorge Orta Pattern Book, Black Dog Publishing, 2007
Exhibition history:
2005 Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa Venice, Italy
Courtesy:
E. Righi Collection, Italy
Since 2005, the artists' project OrtaWater has explored the challenges surrounding water access, scarcity, and corporate control. Through rigorous analysis, visual and textual research, and collaborative workshops with a wide range of specialists, the artists have developed an extensive body of work that includes drawings, objects, sculptures, and public artworks. Together, these works evoke the interconnected cycles of collecting, purifying, and distributing water.
The protection of this vital resource is embodied in Lifeguard, a figure dragging a collection of containers and objects associated with water. As with many works in the Lifeguard series, the sculpture sustains an intriguing ambiguity between function and symbolism. The viewer is left uncertain whether the figure is a survivor carrying the remnants of a struggle or a rescuer engaged in the act of saving others.