Words for Water
Words for water explores a diversity of languages, including Indigenous Australian languages as a starting point to evoke a connection to water as the sustaining element of all life. Indigenous cultures have an acute understanding and connection to the relationship between body, environment (site) and identity and this project seeks to awaken this connection more broadly across cultures and practices.
Words for water is an exploration into the many aspects of the chemical of H2O. Water makes up over 70 per cent of the human body, it is essential for sustaining life and has massive social and cultural significance.
Water may seem ubiquitous, but it has some rather uncommon properties. At the atomic level, water can influence how life and landscapes are formed, such as how water moves through a plant and how rivers meander around bends. It is also the only chemical that be formed in three states – vapour, liquid and solid.
This project uses a range of mixed reality media approaches – the use of augmented media to ‘trigger’ sound and video, the development of a smart phone/tablet app, gallery and installation based exhibitions and a projection work that bring together this project in a filmic, linear narrative.
Background
On 2 June 2013 a call was made to my networks on Facebook to share with me what their word for water was: these are the responses so far.
Words for water
Gapu: Yolgnu, Kapi: Pitjanjatjara, Gugu: Wubuy, Air: Bahasa Indonesian, Wair: Bahasa Sikka, Wada: Myla, Voda: Russian, Sui: Cantonese, Pani: Hindu, Water: English, Aqua: Latin, Eau: French, Ma: Arabic, Agua: Spanish/Portuguese, Nepo: Greek, Wasser: German, Wai: Maori, Galin: Wiradjuri, Wala: Yorta Yorta, Su: Turkish, Tubig: Filipino, Vann: Norwegian, Uisce: Irish Gaelic, Dwr: Welsh, Ilma: Maltese, Vand: Danish, Vatten: Swedish, Banyu: Javanese, Vesi: Estonian, Auga: Galician, Ouse: Old English, Av: Kurdish
Thank you so much to everyone who contributed!!
Project progress
Words for water is seen as an ever expanding project, allowing for infinite expansion of words, thoughts and stories related to water.
- SCANZ2015 – New Plymouth, New Zealand
- Photoaccess, October 2014
- 3WDS14 – Waterwheel World Water Day Symposium 2014, March 2014
- Stage One of Words for Water was presented as part of the Transreal Topologies exhibition at the Royal Institute of Science in Adelaide, October 2013. Transreal Topologies was held in conjunction with the International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR) Symposium in Adelaide.
Useful links
- http://bytetime.4ormat.com/
- Auras – augmented reality https://geokult.com/2013/10/07/auras-for-words-for-water/
- https://geokult.com/2013/09/22/words-for-water-stage-1-ismar2013-and-marart/
- https://geokult.com/2013/10/07/words-for-water-stage-1-some-documentation/
- Youtube video http://youtu.be/Dd0SqODdIOU
- http://bytetime.virb.com