Written by Rob de Loë
Can art and science be brought together fruitfully in ways that lead to new, deeper and more enduring understanding of complex environmental problems? Can art open new pathways to understanding and caring about the environment?
Water
is
complicated.
It
touches
all
of
our
lives
in
countless
ways
every
day,
yet
it’s
possible
to
live
a
long
life
and
not
truly
understand
how
water
works.
Why
do
streams
flow?
Why
do
floods
and
droughts
occur?
How
does
what
we
do
on
the
land
affect
water?
When
people
don’t
know
the
answers
to
questions
like
these,
they
may
not
understand
and
support
the
work
of
water
managers.
Water
experts
often
make
matters
worse
when
talking
to
members
of
the
public
by
using
specialized
technical
terms
such
as
“watershed”,
“runoff”,
and
“hydraulic
gradient”.
We
need
other
ways
of
engaging
people
about
water.
As a water governance researcher and practitioner for the past three decades, I’ve seen first-hand that art can excite people and make them curious about water in ways that technical studies and reports alone cannot. Importantly, I believe that scientific and artistic perspectives on water can be complementary. When they come together effectively, new, different, and perhaps deeper understandings of water may be possible.
I’ve been a photographer longer than I’ve been a water expert, but those sides of me have been kept apart during the last few decades. Two years ago it dawned on me that they don’t need to be separate anymore. SERS is one of the very few places where my art side and my science side can come together professionally to explore the questions I posed at the outset.
In this next phase of my career, I’m winding down my work on water governance, and launching a new program of art making, scholarship and teaching focused on using photography to bridge the gap between art and science. Naturally I’m starting with water.
A
current
project
I’m
working
on
is
ephemeral
and
intermittent
streams.
These
are
tiny,
unnamed
flows
of
water
that
help
keep
rivers
flowing.
They
usually
appear
only
after
a
rainfall,
so
many
people
think
they’re
just
wet
spots
on
a
favourite
hiking
trail
rather
than
a
key
part
of
the
hydrologic
cycle.
The
finished
project
will
appear
on
my
website
first,
but
I’m
looking
forward
to
a
larger
public
exhibition
in
future.
Other
examples
of
projects
and
works
in
progress
are
available
here: https://www.robdeloephotography.com/Works