In 2002, during his professorship for new media art at the State School of Art and Design in Karlsruhe, artist Uwe Laysiepen (Ulay) initiated the multidimensional art project WATERTOALL. At the heart of this project lies Laysiepen's desire to visualise a range of aspects connected with drinking water, e.g. the management and use of water, the availability of pure drinking water for people worldwide, alternative methods of collecting and distributing water, and last but not least cultural values and rituals concerning water.
There is growing awareness worldwide about the fundamental meaning of the availability of fresh drinking water for every human being. Both the shortage and surplus of water could lead to global problems that subsequently result into economic and political conflicts.
The core of the project is art and its capabilities to visualise and communicate. The WATERTOALL project centres around the production of documents and documentaries from the perspective of international artists. It is about art, communication and ethics, not politics. Projects and workshops from all over the world cover real, everyday situations of people and their need of and right to fresh water.
The outputs of the activities are not only photography, video and audio material imbued with commitment, but also real-time and live-stream reports and events, channelled through the internet and brought to galleries, museums and the public arena at large. Laysiepen refers to this way of communicating as LIVE STREAMED MATTER.
WATERTOALL sees its mission as: visualising and communicating about the availability of fresh drinking water for man and animal, worldwide, informing the public and enhancing awareness of present and future issues concerning fresh water, as well as stimulating innovative-alternative water projects.
Visualisation and communication are supported by new media such as portable field-labs which combine digital film, photography, audio- and satellite technology.
WATERTOALL strives to be a platform based on the principle of dialogue, thereby bridging political, social and ecological differences of opinion and interest. It seeks cooperation with educational institutions, international organisations and commercial companies that have put the water issue high on their agenda. To this end, the WATERTOALL Foundation, a non-profit NGO, will be established in the Netherlands in 2005 to provide a legal ground for the ongoing project.