Yorkshire and Derbyshire’s landscapes and the water sources that serve cities across the counties have inspired a new exhibition opening this month.
‘Ways of Water’ explores the water infrastructures from across the counties and the historic and contemporary implications of the Sheffield cholera epidemic of 1832.
Mark Peter Wright, one half of ‘Matterlurgy’, the artist duo who created the exhibition said: “We’re originally from Yorkshire so we have a sort of heritage to the area in some way but we’ve done a lot of projects about water. We really love to share and educate people on the topic.
“It’s very important at the moment because the state of the UK’s water is very very poor. There’s a lot of pollution, a lot of infrastructural, political and economic problems around supplying healthy water. It’s something we’re really interested in because it’s something you often take for granted.”
Visitors will experience a multi-channel film and sound installation highlighting the architectural, technological and sonic aspects of our reservoirs, alongside photographs of historic wells celebrating our earliest access to water and the relics associated with it.
Helena Hunter, the other half of ‘Matterlurgy’, said: “We’ve got three huge screens in the exhibition which shows off the infrastructures and technologies in reservoirs. It has this awesome immersive feel.”
‘Ways of Water’ opens on February 15 at Sheffield’s Millennium Gallery in the Winter Gardens.
