In collaboration with Hedvig Schroeder
New Shelter Plan Kiosk, Copenhagen (DK), 2023
‘Containers 1-60′ (2020-2023)
Stoneware
‘Wishing You Well’ (2023)
Marble, water, pump, coins
‘Vessel to-go’ (2023)
Plastic, water, steel, refrigerator
‘Free Streaming’ (2023)
Videocollage, 8 tablet devices
‘Recent Excavations’ (2023)
Dustpan, broom, unglazed stoneware
“When water is scarce, thirsty animals regroup into mega herds seeking to quench their thirst. But predators are waiting around the waterholes looking for easy prey. Soon, the weak and injured are weeded out. The power over the waterhole is an eternal game of survival where one drop of water marks the difference between life and death. Despite the risk of hidden predators, the instinctive urge to drink water leads the thirsty ones into a deadly trap every time.”
In their latest collaborative project the Danish-Swedish artist duo Hedvig Schroeder & Ida Brockmann sheds light on the vessel as an iconic artifact illuminating the different values we add to water. On the journey of water containers’ cultural history we meet a marble fountain, a video collage, and plastic amphoras stored in a refrigerator, all reflecting on water’s relation to market forces, basic survival, and wishing wells.
Today, water is one of the major challenges of civilization. First we drank out of our hands from natural water sources. Then we filled ceramic vessels from wells and fountains. Today, we can find a bottle of water on any street corner. For many, bottled water has become synonymous with water itself due to the modern desire to drink “on the go”. The kiosk is a new type of waterhole where the water we buy is no longer just water, it is Aqua D’or, Evian, Ramlösa, Fiji and Voss.
Exhibited at New Shelter Plan Kiosk, Copenhagen (DK), 2023
