WHAT THE WATER GAVE US: In cooperation with Atelier Mondial and Kunsttage Basel

The exhibition What the Water Gave Us presents six artistic positions from London, Strasbourg, Oaxaca, and Basel. The works on display operate within the dynamic field between textiles, sculpture, and spatial installation, engaging with fundamental questions about the value of material things and the social values that underpin them.

Water serves as a connecting element—though not always explicitly addressed—functioning as a vital force, a symbol of transformation, and a thematic thread running through the exhibition. It stands for cycles, change, and permeability—qualities that also resonate, in diverse ways, within the artistic works themselves.

The exhibition poses key questions: What protective layers and outer shells are needed in times of social and political upheaval? Who determines the value of materials—especially when they are considered waste? And which elements are truly essential to life?

Each artist approaches these questions through distinct aesthetic and material strategies. Their works open up new perspectives on the relationship between people, materials, and the environment—revealing how deeply our thinking and actions are interwoven with ecological, social, and cultural processes.