Photographs of the exhibition at DFID
WATER AND CULTURE
Water plays an important part in our cultural life: in art, in religion, in our sense of place. Rivers provide inspiration for artists and poets. Architects and gardeners value the reflections, light and sound of water. Religions revere holy rivers and sacred springs, and treasure the cleansing properties of water to symbolize spiritual renewal. Rivers and lakes are a source of pride and an image of urban identity.
Providing a contrast to the positive images of pure water is the darker view of wastewater and sanitation. Although not so visible, this is still part of our culture but it can be a taboo subject. There are restrictions on when and where we can carry out a basic human activity. Unclean? Hidden? Shameful? Toilets can be the domain of the dispossessed — the task of cleaning them is often given over to the socially excluded. The toilet is the canvas for the graffiti artist, the subject of ribald remarks, not romantic verse.
For millions of the world’s poor however, the reality of water and sanitation is one of poor quality, or no access at all to these basic facilities. Helping to improve access does not just depend on technology, or on resources and rights, but also on an understanding of how we value and view these services. Such values and views vary from culture to culture. Art and architecture, religion, music, literature and drama all need to feature in the complex mix that will lead to improvements in the provision of safe water and adequate sanitation for everyone.
This exhibition brings art and engineering together. It presents a series of images by Rod Shaw from his book Drawing Water, illustrating how the skills of an artist can contribute to international development. In a review of the book, the journal Waterlines recently noted that “part of the enduring problem of getting sanitation onto an equal footing with water is that people are either embarrassed or they laugh about it. These illustrations invite neither response, and Shaw should be thanked for making plain a subject that is too often avoided or skirted around”.
Brian Reed
Water, Engineering and Development Centre
Loughborough University, 2006