Sweet Water

Ideas for a Future of Scarcity
Dulce agua
24.03 - 21.08.2022

Tuesday - Sunday, 10:00 - 20:00 h

Floor 3

Free entry

As the United Nations rightly says, water is a right, not a privilege. However, only 2.5% of the Earth’s water is not salty and much of it is hard to access. Up to 3.5 billion people could well be facing water scarcity by 2025.

In the face of this looming crisis, it is fitting to show what various national and international designers are doing about it. The aim is not only to present objects that are related to the world of water and solutions to water-related problems such as how to store, clean, purify and use it more rationally, etc., but also to present projects whose intention is to draw attention to these issues and make the general public more aware of them, so that they have an impact on the proper use that we should all make of this precious resource.

The exhibition presents objects related to water consumption, such as some new interpretations of the earthenware pitchers, bottles and jugs designed to make plastic bottles disappear from restaurant tables. There are also a number of examples of public water fountains, which are set to become increasingly common, as well as devices designed to purify water - such as filters that have an immediate effect -, devices that use solar energy to desalinate water or structures that can facilitate the collection of rainwater and also filter it for consumption. On the topic of ocean pollution, it also brings together a selection of furniture and objects made from plastic salvaged from the sea, from clothing and footwear to chairs and fabrics. It also seeks to draw attention to certain excesses in the fashion world, such as the fact that it takes 10,000 litres of water to make a single pair of jeans, and it unveils a number of alternatives.

Designers and brands in the exhibiton:
Adidas / Alejandra Díaz / Alexander Kirkeby / Álvaro Catalán de Ocón / André Ricard / Andreu World / Anniek van den Berge / Arthur Hoffner / Arturo Vittori / Asunción Molinos Gordo / AUARA / CLOSCA / Dr Brenda Parker, Professor Marcos Cruz and Shneel Malik / Curro Claret / Daan Roosegaarde / E6PR / ECOALF / Erco Lai  / Francisco Gómez Paz and Alberto Meda / Gabriele Diamanti / Gabriele and Oscar Buratti / Gundega Strauberga / Héctor Serrano, Alberto Martínez and Raky Martínez / Henry Glogau / Hipporoller / Hung I-chen, Guo Yi-hui and Cheng Yu-ti / IKEA / Inma Bermúdez / Jaime Hayon / Jane Withers / Jane Withers and Kari Korkman / Joan Cruanyes and Carles Bassó / JOIN THE PIPE / Jordi Canudas / LAMA Concept / LARQ / LifeStraw / Lotte de Raadt / LPA Studio / Matteo Guarnaccia and Teresa Fernández-Pello / María Solans, Raquel Tinta and Iván Torres / Mario Kerkstra / Marre Moerel / Martín Azúa / Matteo Brasili / Max Enrich / Miquel Milá / Museu del Càntir de Argentona / NLE Architects / OCEAN52 / Olivier de Gruijter / Omayra Maymó / Oscar Tusquets / Patricia Urquiola / Pettie Petzer y Johan Jonker / Plastic Whale by VEPA / Quim Larrea / ROCA / Seungji Mun / Shahar Livne / Studio Ronnenberg / Studio Makkink & Bey / Studio Sway / Tulip Siphon  / Vestergaard Frandsen / Víctor  Carrasco / WATERisLIFE

Ana Domínguez Siemens, curator of Sweet Water, studied Art History at the Complutense University of Madrid and “Decorative Arts of the 19th and 20th centuries” at Sotheby’s Art Institute in London. Since 1989, she has worked as a journalist, writer and curator specialising in design. She writes for prestigious national and international media. She has also written numerous texts for books and catalogues on the work of Gaetano Pesce, Gunjan Gupta, Rolf Sachs, Giulio Ridolfo, Álvaro Catalán de Ocón, Fredrikson Stallard, Anton Alvarez, Luis Bustamante, Jaime Parladé, Mattia Bonetti and others. As a curator, she has curated several Design exhibitions on such different themes as sustainable design, social design, 3D printing, DIY, packaging of the future, self-production, the search for diversity in an industrial context or new bio-based materials. She has also curated solo exhibitions on the work of Jaime Hayon and Patricia Urquiola. She is the curator of Spanish design for the ADORNO.design collector’s website.

The exhibitions has been designed by Clara Sancho.