- Location: Honolulu Academy of Arts, HI (1994)
- Client: Reuse/Refuse, Artist and the Environment, Honolulu Academy of Arts
- Size: 14′ x 10′
- Materials: 14 water coolers, water bottles, paper cups, plastic bags, lights
- Artist: Mags Harries
Water & Wells
The public art installation was created for the exhibition “Reuse-Refuse.” It is about the role of water in communities from the traditional well to the modern office watercooler. Fourteen water coolers created a gurgling place filled with reflections and light. The space drew in people to drink, talk, and reflect. Museum visitors were encouraged to drink from the fountains and leave their paper cups in the receptacles between the coolers. The process created an ever changing space of diminishing water and increasing waste.
Water & Light
As the bottles of water were emptied over the course of the exhibition, they were placed on shelves above the coolers. Full bottles were taken from a platform in the center that seemed to float above the floor. Lighting from the ceiling and the floor reflected through the bottles, playing off the changing water levels. The quality of light in room changed as more of the bottles were emptied and replaced.
Prints & Reflections
Besides light and reflections, prints made from the local Hawaiian manholes lined the walls. Like a finger print, each of these prints made with chalk are all slightly different. Within the rings are words, provoking thoughts on water.
Water & Measure
Each day the museum collected all of the paper cups that visitors had discarded in bins between the coolers. The paper cups were placed into clear plastic trash bags to display on the wall at the exit to the installation.