Museum of Water

Front-End Development

Museum of Water is a collection of publicly donated water and accompanying stories; an invitation to ponder our precious liquid and how we use it. There are over 1000 bottles in the collection, ranging from water from a holy river in India, to a burst London water main, ice from a Sussex field, a melted snowman, 20-year-old evaporated snow from Maine, condensation from a Falmouth window, Hackney rainwater, a new born baby’s bath water, two different breaths and water from a bedside table said to be infused with dreams.

My part in the project:

Launch Year: 2013

Client: Arts Admin (Crafted @ Red Giant)

Museum of Water

From the moment I heard the idea of this project, I thought it was brilliant! Amy Sharrocks is a live artist, sculptor and film-maker. It is her who came up with the idea of creating a Museum of Water – a collection of publicly donated water and accompanying stories. Currently there are over 1000 bottles in the Collection.

Museum of Water began its journey in London, in March 2013 and travelled across the UK for 3 years. Since then, it has travelled to different parts of Europe and is currently going across Western Australia with Perth International Arts Festival until 2018, after which the collection will be housed permanently with the WA Museum.

Amy’s wonderful project needed an online presence and I was lucky enough to work on her website. Just like the water donations which brought the Museum of Water its popularity, the website needed to relate the wonderful story behind this project. The constantly growing water collection finally found its digital place and is available 24/7 to the interested visitors. An image of every individual vial, glass, bottle or jar of liquid can be easily found on the website along with the accompanying story provided by the donor. Amy didn’t stop there, as she continued to work with her team to further the magic of the water journey. Together they created a sound archive where people related their story, in their own words. Each story is so enchanting that you won’t be able to pause once you hit play!

I had the chance to visit the Museum of Water a few years back, while hosted at Somerset House in London and the meticulous work of Amy and her team on the water, sound and light installations was beyond my expectations. Do check Museum of Water if it arrives in your town. It won’t disappoint!