Is DC water safe to drink?

Mary Coble's exhibition "Source" opened yesterday with a performance that culminated in the creation of a communal source of clean water from which everyone who attended was invited to drink.  I enjoyed several cups of delicious, filtered water that were a result of this thought-provoking project!

Mary began the project by collecting 200 water samples from every ward in DC in containers marked with the address where she collected the water. The array of water colors was fascinating! The brownest water came from a youth recreation center in Anacostia. Water nearly as brown unexpectedly came from an address in Kalorama. Some of the water came from residences. Mary said that even after she explained the project and told people that she was an artist, some were suspicious and wouldn't let her fill the water jug. Some feared that she was from the water authority and would somehow report them to the "authorities" for some unknown violation.

After assembling the water, she built a simple filtration system into which she poured a portion of each jug. After a while, the water started refiltering back through the system like a fountain and it all became one pool of water from which we drank. The water source became something like a community gathering place. This project made me think of the water fountains throughout Rome where Romans would collect water for their daily use, stopping to gossip and share news. Or the way people would gather around the water cooler at the office to trade information.

A key element in Mary's work is endurance. She tests the limits of her physical abilities. I arrived at the gallery just as she was beginning the performance: she climbed up and then down the ladder to retrieve a jug, then carried it across the courtyard, then climbed up a second ladder to pour some of the contents into the bowl, then down the ladder and back to the original position to replace the jug on its hook.  It was a beautiful day if you were just sitting in the shade enjoying a cold Margarita. Lugging around that weight again and again over many hours? Quite a feat!

By the end, the water was crystal clear! Plenty of tasty water but it left us wondering about the accessibility people have to clean water in our own city and around the world.

All images by Max Cook.