{"id":84642,"date":"2026-05-18T11:47:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T09:47:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/actueel\/kunst-en-wetenschap-werken-samen-nieuwe-blik-op-de-watertransitie\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T15:49:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T13:49:24","slug":"kunst-en-wetenschap-werken-samen-nieuwe-blik-op-de-watertransitie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/kunst-en-wetenschap-werken-samen-nieuwe-blik-op-de-watertransitie\/","title":{"rendered":"Art and science working together: a new view of the water transition"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For more than six months, artist Mariko Hori immersed herself in the world of the researchers at KWR.\u00a0Working from her own perspective, she teamed up with the researchers to explore new ways of looking at complex issues in the water sector.\u00a0What did this journey of discovery produce?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When KWR issued an open call for the position of an Artist in Residence in 2025, artist <\/span>Mariko<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Hori<\/span><\/a> <\/span>responded without a moment\u2019s hesitation.\u00a0She was born on the coast of Japan, where she developed an intimate bond with water. She loves swimming and likes to drink tap water. \u201cThe Japanese culture has a strong link with water,\u201d she explains.\u00a0 \u201cWe have hot springs with silky smooth water: a glorious treat for your skin.\u201d\u00a0She was already familiar with KWR, which she had visited during her previous Artist in Residence position at the Utrecht School of Arts (HKU). \u201cI have already been an Artist in Residence in many places,\u201d she says. \u201cNormally, positions like this are established by art institutions such as museums. As an artist, you get access to materials and accommodation, for example. It\u2019s a way of discover new perspectives for your work in a different environment. I had already come across the interaction between art and science before, but this Artist in Residence at KWR was a unique experience. I was immersed in the whole institution, just as if I worked there. I had lunch with the researchers, commuted with them, took part in meetings, and talked to anyone I wanted. I had thought beforehand that it would be quite difficult to communicate with scientists but that wasn\u2019t true at all. What struck me most about the people at KWR was their open-mindedness. Everyone was friendly and interested in me and my ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Artist Mariko Hori and KWR Director Mari\u00eblle van der Zouwen. The artwork was purchased by KWR and is on display in the lobby of the KWR building.<\/div><\/div>
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Artist Mariko Hori and KWR Director Mari\u00eblle van der Zouwen. The artwork was purchased by KWR and is on display in the lobby of the KWR building.<\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Different way of looking<\/h2>\n

Project coordinator Katja Barendse explains how the idea for the AiR (Artist in Residence) project around collaboration with an artist took root at KWR. During an earlier exploratory study as part of Waterwijs<\/a> \u2013 the collective research programme of the drinking water utilities \u2013 she investigated what happens when art and science meet in the context of the water sector.\u00a0\u201cThe water sector is facing a lot of transition challenges,\u201d says Barendse. \u201cAnd there is a growing understanding that you can\u2019t approach them using established blueprints. The questions involved include: which paradigms underpin what we do? How do we look at knowledge? And what is our relationship with water?\u201d<\/p>\n

Artist in Residence<\/h2>\n

In the preliminary research, KWR looked at what actually happens when you bring art and science together. That involved making a distinction between forms of collaboration where art is used to convey a message, and forms where that instrumental approach is actually jettisoned.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn de eerste vorm wordt kunst gebruikt om iets uit te dragen\u201d, vertelt Barendse. \u201cDat is wat meestal gebeurt. Maar wij waren juist op zoek naar een situatie waarin kunstenaar en wetenschapper vanuit een gelijkwaardige positie samenwerken, zonder dat de uitkomst vooraf vastligt.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Zo ontstond het idee om te werken met een Artist in\u00a0<\/span>R<\/span>esidence<\/span>. \u201cNiet om direct tot oplossingen te komen, maar om ruimte te maken voor andere manieren van denken en kijken. Kunstenaars opereren vanuit een ander vertrekpunt dan wetenschappers en kunnen helpen om vanzelfsprekendheden te bevragen en ons denken op te rekken.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the first form, art is used to express something,\u201d says Barendse. \u201cThat\u2019s what usually happens. But we were actually looking for a situation where artists and scientists work on an equal footing, without the outcome being predetermined.\u201d\u00a0And so the idea of working with an Artist in Residence was born. \u201cNot to come up with immediate solutions but to make room for other ways of thinking and looking at things. Artists operate from a different starting point than scientists and they can help to question natural assumptions and push the envelope of our thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barendse believes that the large response to the open call and the collaboration with artist Mariko Hori confirmed the need for encounters of this kind. \u201cAlthough the analysis of this project is still ongoing, it is becoming clear that this type of collaboration mainly creates openings: room for different voices, for doubt and for exploring perspectives that are less likely to be addressed by the usual research approaches.\u00a0The impact is not easy to measure or determine clearly. It\u2019s more a question of subtle shifts: researchers who reconnect with their motivation or fascination for the research they do, who start to look at their work differently, or who find the space to ask questions that have previously been left out of the picture. It is precisely these shifts that make the research itself change \u2013\u00a0not necessarily because of better answers but rather because of different questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The artwork Forever\u202fin different\u202fways.<\/div><\/div>
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Researcher Elvio Amato is conducting research into PFAS in water. He opens the water dropper at the top of the artwork. Mariko Hori interpreted the substance PFAS, a \u2018forever chemical\u2019, in the artwork as a transparent, imperishable plastic drop,<\/div><\/div>
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Mariko Hori interpreted PFAS, a \u2018forever chemical\u2019, in her artwork as a transparent, non-biodegradable plastic droplet. <\/div><\/div>
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The water in the vat comes from the ponds on the KWR site. It symbolises how microorganisms cope with the passage of time. They are constantly adapting to changing conditions.<\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Resilience and deep adaptation<\/h2>\n

One of the researchers who collaborated closely with Hori was Peter van Thienen. As a hydroinformatics expert, his research interests include resilience and deep adaptation<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cThis field focuses on how we as a water sector tackle large-scale and long-term changes in society and our surroundings,\u201d he explains. \u201cI always give the example of the large current in the Atlantic Ocean that provides us with a temperate climate here in the Netherlands. If that ocean current weakens or even stops as a result of man-made climate change, it is possible that our climate in Northwest Europe may not be warm in the future, but actually very cold.\u00a0We are definitely not preparing for that. And more discontinuous changes of this kind are conceivable. At KWR, we are working on the question of how the water sector should approach and prepare for those eventualities.\u201d Questions of this kind are quite abstract and difficult to answer. Van Thienen has seen how Hori\u2019s approach can introduce a different perspective.\u00a0The artist developed, among other things, an approach for a workshop that helped participants to empathise with situations far beyond their own backyard. \u201cIf we researchers were to do that, the result would be a sheet of paper with straight lines and primary colours.\u00a0Mariko worked with beautiful paper and stickers in all kinds of materials. And she challenged people to imagine how an ecosystem or water would feel under certain conditions.\u00a0That worked really well. People were walking around with broad smiles on their faces and I heard some very interesting discussions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three works of art<\/h2>\n

Hori\u2019s conversations with Van Thienen and his colleagues resulted in three works of art.\u00a0Two of them \u2013 Forever in different ways <\/em>and Archiving the unknown <\/em>\u2013 are already on display in the hall at KWR.<\/p>\n