World Water Day: Lena Bartula & Caminos de Agua
Title: Water Water Everywhere and Not a Drop That's Clean
Media: Mixed media sculpture
Artist: Lena Bartula
The proceeds from the sale of this sculpture, 'Water Water Everywhere and Not a Drop That's Clean', will be generously donated by the artist, Lena Bartula, to Caminos de Agua in commemoration of World Water Day. We believe that bringing awareness is fundamentally important to mitigate the current crisis and art is often a very effective way to do this. We want to sincerely thank Lena for her support of our work and for her sculpture, which conveys the transformation of water sources around the world and the way this new reality affects our lives.
In San Miguel de Allende and the Upper Rio Laja watershed – the main water source for seven different municipalities and nearly 700,000 people – we are experiencing a deep environmental and health crisis. Water is getting scarcer due mainly to large-scale export agricultural industries, and this, in turn, is creating problems for thousands of rural communities and urban centers that need to go deeper into the ground to obtain their drinking water. Unfortunately, as the wells are drilled deeper to reach the depleting water supplies, the water becomes more contaminated with a new class of chemicals – namely arsenic and fluoride. The dangers associated with arsenic and fluoride consumption on human health have been clearly identified through numerous studies. Among other issues, people can develop dental and crippling skeletal fluorosis (browning of the teeth and deformation of the bones, mostly in children), kidney disease, skin lesions, and several forms of cancer.
Photo: Artist Lena Bartula reading an excerpt from her book Whispers in the Thread.
Lena in her own words:
This mixed media sculpture stands as a testament to the state of our waters, in so many parts of the world. I created it several years ago, from a porcelain sink reminiscent of drinking fountains in elementary schools. It's something I would have been drinking out of as a child in the 1950s, before pollution from factories and farms changed the ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, and oceans as we knew them.
An old Barbie doll, dressed in a map of the world, covered with a found plastic water bottle, features a faucet for a head. From there, strips of shredded textiles flow, some in colors that we don't wish to imagine when we take a sip. And yet, in so many parts of our world today, water filters are necessary to create safe, drinkable water.
Here in San Miguel de Allende, one way we can address contamination and its associated health risks is by supporting Caminos de Agua, whose mission it is to provide communities at risk, with access to clean water. If you aren't familiar with this organization, please click on the link to see all the work being done, and why it's so important for the people in our area.
Because I believe in this organization and the work they do, I offer this sculpture, "Water Water Everywhere..." as my commitment to their project. Your purchase of this art means 100% of the proceeds goes to Caminos de Agua. For details and price, please email me at lenabartula@gmail.com.
Let's all use World Water Day to think about what we can do to keep our waters safe for this generation and those to come.