Living Yangtze: An exhibition poised to make a difference
Eric Valli and Swarovski come together to bring an exhibition that highlights the importance of clean, sustainable water sources.
As part of the Art & Science of Sustainability season, the ArtScience Museum is presenting Eric Valli’s Living Yangtze Exhibition. Running from 13 – 27 October, the creative collaboration between Swarovski and Valli tells the story of the communities that live along the Yangtze River in China.
This extensive exhibition features both photographs and short documentary films that portray the landscapes and people of the magnificent area. Among them is Valli’s documentation of the potters of Jingdezhen. Valli’s photographs offer a glimpse into their lives and the Dragon Kiln, a 67 metre long furnace that is the last of its kind remaining.
Another part of the exhibition reveals the tough journey nomadic tribes take up to the Geladangdong Massif, the source of the Yangtze. The nomads journey to the unforgiving source at 5000 metres above sea level just to find grass to feed their yaks.
In conjunction with the Swarovski Waterschool, Valli aims to use his art form as a positive medium to project the importance of clean, sustainable water sources.
“We have a tendency to forget numbers, data…but we remember what emotionally touches us. So instead of bombarding people with data and gloomy statistics… we wanted to make them aware of the beauty… to motivate them to act rather than discouraging them with guilt,” said Eric Valli
Swarovski commissioned Valli to spend six months along the Yangtze River documenting the communities surrounding their Waterschool. The Swarovski Waterschool China is a non-profit organization that has been working with the Yangtze community since 2008. The school aims to help children learn about the importance of water and improve access to clean water and basic sanitation.
Amanda Lim
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