Pilar Beltrán

In November 2002, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted the General Comment no. 15 on the Right to Water. Article I.1 declares that “the human right to water is indispensable for leading a life in human dignity”. General Comment no. 15 also says that “the human right to water entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic use.”

At a time of global pandemic in which we are being constantly reminded about the importance of hygiene and social distancing, we wonder what happens when these measures are impossible. We take a look at refugee camps on Europe’s southern borders where thousands of people survive in overcrowded conditions and, similar to previous projects, we also make contact with activists working on the ground. On the border between Turkey and Syria, in the region of Idlib, various humanitarian aid projects are currently being carried out with the collaboration of a small organization from Valencia of freelance activists. One of the actions they are undertaking consists in buying and distributing 1000-litre tanks to ensure a regular supply of water to camps and irregular settlements in the area.

The current installation, Proyecto Agua, II. (1×100= 1000), comprises a number of cyanotypes with images of different recipients (bottles, carafes, buckets, glasses, etc.), that give us a graphic idea of what 1000 litres of water is really like.