Water for Life opened in 2OO8 as the central exhibit of World Expo held in Zaragoza, Spain.
Housed in the 73 meter high “Torre del Agua”, the Splash installation became an iconic symbol at the event and was the centre piece of a wider exhibition exploring humanity and its relationship to water.
Planned as an immersive environment, Water for Life is the result of a collaboration between the partners of Program Collective (Program Collective are Mona Kim, Todd Palmer, Olga Subirós, and Simon Taylor of Tomato). Themes were chosen to explore humanities emotional, biological and chemical connections to water and its importance as a building block of life.
The challenge was to engage visitors with the notion that water is a fragile and vital, yet sustainable resource. To achieve this the team used an experiential approach that while physical, also combined cultural and scientific ideas. Moving image, sound and light intersect with sculpted forms, texts and liquid water itself. An often complex story unfolds through 17 site-specific installations and more than 7O film and video pieces.
Visitor numbers exceeded 1 million during the 3 month event. The local people of Zaragoza petitioned for the exhibition’s ‘Splash’ sculpture to be re-instated on its original site after the event had finished. Their wish was granted in 2O14.