ava paterson werner

Waterlinks Project Statement:

The WaterLinks series is a collection of art installations displaying art and video diaries from communities around the world. It encourages self-directed participation and offers visitors an opportunity to capture their thoughts and stories related to critical topics surrounding their use of water and how they experience water in the stories they tell. These stories then become part of the exhibition and part of the future of the exhibition as the project is installed around the world. The artwork is intended to extend relational aesthetic practices to the community and encourage creative expression through participatory art events. This type of interactive installation helps reveal how communities engage with this important subject.

The installation includes individual hand-made hanging artworks created by Ava Werner (an American painter and mixed-media artist). These artworks are created using imagery and histories related to water and the specific location of the installation. Some of the imagery on the cards shows the history surrounding the use of water in and around the installation of the project. The attendees of the exhibition are free to take one of the artworks and leave a video diary message. There is a question on the back of each card, and participants are encouraged to answer that question giving a video diary submission at the event or they can answer the question by writing their answer on the back of the card and re-hanging the card in the installation. They can take a work of art to keep once they have made a contribution to the project. Another element that is important to the project is working with indigenous populations in and around the installation of the project when ever possible.  We see indigenous people as stewards of the water and the land and its use over time.  We also feel that their collective history and perspectives should be an integral part of the project when ever possible.

James P. Werner then designs interactive video compilations from the diary narratives collected in each region. The videos are projected in the space representing each iteration of the project. We plan to have the video compilations from each previous installation rotating in a single projection. James P. Werner will also design video compilations from the diary narratives collected at the event and post them so they can be seen and visited the same day as the event. Participants can see their narrative as it relates to the other narrative contributions. These pieces represent local histories and perspectives about water from the five regions that the project has been installed. Our goal for the project is to install the exhibition in various countries around the world. We hope to use the video diary submissions to contribute an authentic voice to unique communities regarding their connections and dependence on water. We are currently working on a book for the project using the stories we have collected. Versions of WaterLinks have so far been installed in New Zealand, Micronesia and Vanuatu, Australia, California, New York City and Maine.

To find out more about Jim Werner’s contribution to the project go to www.jimwerner.com