Jane Withers on Water Consumption
The next IQ2 If Conference speaker to be interviewed by Urban Times was Jane Withers; a design consultant, curator and writer based in London. Alongside establishing her own design consultancy she has curated critically acclaimed exhibitions including ’1% Water and our Future’ at Z33, Belgium, and she is currently working on Wonderwater, a series of projects and events around water for World Design Capital Helsinki 2012. For Beijing Design Week she curated ‘How much water do you Eat?’. Urban Times’ author, Claire Thirlwall, interviewed Jane .
You have worked with clients as diverse as Selfridges and the Flower Council of Holland, as well as on many exhibitions. Is there one theme that runs through your work or is it impossible to put your work into one category?
What interests me is the transformative and constructive influence intelligent design can have on anything from food to the environment to communications, I try to make this the core of what we do.
The 1% Water archive, in 1% Water exhibition at Z33, Hasselt, Belgium, is a ‘laboratory’ of samples that illustrates the diverse nature of freshwater and alerts us to issues such as pollution.
What is the thinking behind the 1% Water project and how did it come about?
I’ve always loved water and bathing and exploring water cultures, and have written a lot about it. With the growing water crisis, it seemed to me that there was an urgent need to look at water more holistically, it’s relation to us and our world.
1% Water emerged from this, but we also wanted to illuminate the richness of water cultures, rituals and mythologies. I really believe that forging a deeper cultural connection to water is fundamental to shaping a sustainable future. Water saving devices are one thing, but if water is appreciated, valued and enjoyed it is more likely to be used responsibly.
More recently I co-curated Surface Tension; the Future of Water at the Science Gallery in Dublin (until Jan 20 2012). Science Gallery is part of Trinity College and characterized by an open conversation between the arts and sciences, and what excites me is this multidisciplinary approach. For Surface Tension, the selection was deliberately broad – everything from engineer’s solutions to artists’ imaginings, from the local to the global, from mega projects to small touches aimed at making us think a little differently about how we abuse water.
Using sunlight to clean water by Laurence Gill, in the Surface Tension exhibition at the Science Gallery Dublin, explores an accessible way to clean water at a village-scale in developing countries by using solar power. (Designer credit: Laurence Gill)
1% Water explores the human relationship with water in different cultures. What lessons do you think we can we learn from other cultures?
Matlo by Doshi Levien in 1% Water exhibition at Z33, Hasselt, Belgium, is a new take on the water cooler using the ancient material terracotta and natural evaporation rather than electricity to keep water fresh.
In general, I think the most important lesson is that we learn to respect and appreciate water. Since industrialisation we, in the West, take water for granted as this clean, clear, cheap stuff that gushes out of a tap and we are surprised when it doesn’t behave as we think it should. But cultures where water is scarce or regions prone to flooding, usually have a much closer connection to water and reverence for its creative and destructive powers, treating it as precious and pleasurable.
There are lots of examples of water practices from other cultures and ancient cultures that make sense for our water stressed future. Terracotta is just one – Doshi Levien’s Matlo is a brilliant alternative to the water cooler using natural evaporation rather than electricity to keep drinking water fresh. Or how about reinventing the Hamam? Designed for hot climates, Hamams or Turkish baths are communal bathhouses that use very little water and are wonderfully alive, sociable and pleasurable places. I could go on and on…
In the West we have the bizarre paradox of a litre of bottled water often costing more than a litre of fuel yet we continue to pollute rivers and other fragile ecosystems. How can we get people to value water in all its forms?
There’s an awful lot to be done, but again I think the key is communication, raising awareness of the issues we face wherever we are in the world. And design can play an important role here – helping us engage with big, difficult and mind numbing issues in ways that engage and provoke, even charm and amuse us rather than send us running for cover. This is what we are trying to do with Wonderwater Café, a project about the relationship between water and food.
I love the question “how much water do you eat?” that you pose as part of the Wonderwater project. Having worked on the project are there any facts that you have come across that have surprised you?
Well I have become increasingly aware of what a complex and difficult issue it is, but also how critical is to try and become more aware of the links between our food purchases and shortages in other countries. 62% of the UK’s water footprint comes from other countries and as agriculture is by far the biggest slice, what we choose to eat really can make a difference.
In the Wonderwater Café, Beijing, flags in the dishes indicate the level of water footprint: High, medium and low (Photographer credit: Matthew Wei; Designer credits: Inna Valila & Tiina Koivusalo)
Much of our water consumption is invisible. How do we ensure that there is more transparency in things to come?
Water labeling would be one way, but it is not as simple as high means bad and low means good. It’s not just the volume of water used to produce a product that matters, but where that water comes from and how it affects the region. Water use isn’t really reflected in the price of products or food at the moment, but I’m sure increasingly it will be, and that will also focus attention on whose water we are using for what.
I understand you that are working on Helsinki World Design Capital 2012. The scope of the project looks immense – can you pick out any specific projects that you think will give people a flavour of what to expect?
The first Wonderwater event is Wonderwater Frozen Lights for World Design Capital Open Weekend on February 4 and 5. An open source project inviting people to join ice lantern design workshops in Helsinki’s amazing Senate Square. It should be a fantastic performance as designers will be constructing their lanterns on site, but there’s also an important message about raising awareness of water usage. There will be a massive 4000 litres blocks of ice helping us to visualize the vast quantity of water each of us uses everyday. And then we are hoping the display of lanterns on the steps below the cathedral will be magical.
I’m looking forward to the Wonderwater cafe in Helsinki. We piloted this project in Beijing Design Week last September in a small traditional Chinese restaurant in Dashilan, the historic hutong district. It was kind of crazy, taking the most popular dishes on the menu with names like ‘Hang a Heat of Roast Duck’,and calculating the water footprint. It was interesting to see the choices people made, but also the discussion and amazement around the dinner table . In Finland we of course we will do it with more local dishes, and then we are also planning a Wonderwater café in London in the autumn.
The Wonderwater Café Beijing menu explains the water footprint of Tian Hai’s most popular dishes (Photographer credit: Matthew Wei; Designer credits: Inna Valila & Tiina Koivusalo)
What are you working on next, and is water a topic you see yourself continuing to focus on?
I am deep in planning Wonderwater at the moment, but also have other exhibition ideas.
On the consultancy side we also have some really interesting projects on the go, we are starting working on the revitalization of De Bijenkorf stores in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. These really are sleeping giants – amazing buildings with great potential right in the city centres but requiring a new definition of how they are used.
So how did you begin your career?
Mostly by enthusiasm and accident! After studying art history at the Courtauld Institute and then design history at the V&A/RCA, I wanted to engage more with contemporary design and so I started writing and curating. My first exhibition was held at Shiseido in Tokyoin the early 90s while I was still at the RCA – a small survey of new chair design that included early prototypes by Jasper Morrison and Tom Dixon, and a wonderful chair by Andrea Branzi from the Animali Domestici series.
Which of your possessions gives the most away about you?
I love cooking and cooking tools, and try and pick up examples of beautiful everyday objects when I travel. I also have a collection of water related things – these are really diverse, from a Balinese wooden water stopper, carved in the shape of a fabulous water monster to protect holy water, to a felt hat for wearing in a Russian sauna to keep the head cool.
What inspires you?
People, ideas, the unpredictable … and daydreaming. The real luxury for me these days is space to think. The monotony of swimming is great for this, also travel. Those lost moments when you are out of reach.
View Jane’s talk from the If Conference on ‘How much water do you eat’ below:
For more interviews of If Conference speakers: Hugh Broughton, Lewis Dartnell, Michael Birnhack, Mark Post, Sarah Harper, Tom Chatfield.
A vital presentation done in a very loving way. That emotion is, in my opinion, critical to our proper appreciation and care for ALL our water resources and the life, including ours, that they support. Humankind needs to leave the age of Supremacy and enter and sustain a new age of global unity. A unity with each other and especially a unity with all aspects of our Earthly environment. We live because Earth lives; otherwise...et fini!
What an elegant and insightful argument. I will watch my water in a new way from now on. Great job on the interview Claire.
What an elegant and insightful argument. I will watch my water in a new way from now on. Great job on the interview Claire. Here are some great water charities: http://water.org/ http://www.wateraid.org/ http://www.charitywater.org/ http://www.projectwet.org/ http://www.dropinthebucket.org/ http://waterislife.com/ http://thewaterproject.org/ http://www.waterforlife.org/index.php
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