Located in an office trailer, the installation displayed stories with a global perspective on drinking-water use while the performance grew out of conversations with Seattle Public Utility staff.
Installation view: water stories. audience stories, trailer.
Water stories: one. two, three, four, five. six, seven, eight, nine.
Performance: video excerpt (8 minutes).
Seattle drinking water is stored in Lake Youngs before it is treated. Algae, living in the lake, change the flavor of the water throughout the year. Water Quality Lab taste test reports have described the lake's water flavor as:
"potato"
"cucumber"
"beets"
"brazil nuts"
"saw dust"
"like fish and mold"
"geranium"
"grassy"
"Texas water," Alison said, "It's what I grew up with. It tastes like it comes out of the ground."
"the kind of water Girl Scouts drink when out camping but with a hint of wet life jacket"
"hamster cage, it tastes like wood shavings with some construction site, and a little ammonia added in"