Wish-Water-Well

Drop into reciprocity

Open the tap and an endless stream of water follows. Push the button and the toilet flushes water to an invisible and forgotten place. Our water systems are designed for abundance and comfort. This has as effect that we see ourselves detached from the water cycle, the ecosystem and nature. But we are not.

With a rising sea level, the floods in the province of Limburg and the increasingly drastic droughts, our realisation is growing that water is not a ‘product’ that conforms to our needs, but a partner we have to relate to.

The Wish-Water-Well invites us to review our relationship with water. It wonders what a water system looks like, that is designed for inclusion of ourselves in nature. From ‘take and take’ to ‘give and take’. From water consumption to water reciprocity. By means of the question “What kind of people would water wish for?”, the Wish-Water-Well challenges the visitor to empathise with water. The answer is carved into a coin and by throwing the coin into the well a wish for water is expressed.

With this ritual we learn to seek the natural balance with water through exchange. By actively asking what reciprocity would look like in our water systems, designers Axel Coumans and Fides Lapidaire propose a water turnaround.

More about Fides Lapidaire and Axel Coumans