THE GIFT OF WATER

3 x 5 x 9’

This biosculpture was commisioned by the town of Grossenhain, near Dresden, Germany. Water, as a symbol of renewal, figured prominently in the town plan to build a remarkable new public swimming complex, where the water is filtered entirely by wetland plants, without the use of chlorine or any other chemicals.

The Gift of Water functions as a part of this constructed wetland filtration system. Two mossy cupped hands reach from the bank into the pond. As water flows into the hands a misting fountain aerates it and moistens the mosses, which in turn, purify the water. The intimacy of the mosses growing over the hands exemplifies how all life is interconnected. The gift of water, the breath of life. We must nurture it as it nurtures us.

The sculpture is built of a lightweight, highly durable textile reinforced concrete developed at the Technical University in Dresden, and was made with their assistance.