WATER AND STORIES
“This is not just our story, this is the story of me, you, the planet, the story of our past, present and future, the story of the whole universe’ Stories for a better world, Nene, generator, 2015
“Every story is a story of water” Natalie Diaz, Native American poet
Water is central to creation myths of every indigenous culture, from Osun, Goddess of the Yoruba people of West Africa, to Tangaroa and Kiwa, deities of the Māori of Polynesia, and it is crucial in the story of Sky Woman of the Patawatomi people. Mermaids, wells, shells, fish, waves, rivers, sea dragons, teardrops, and more, become symbols in stories and tales from all over the world.
On this Pale Blue Dot suspended in the immensity of the universe, Water is Life and a metaphor of birth, formation, transformation, wisdom, beginning. Water is also a metaphor for resilience and adaptability.
The Māori mythological story of Taniwha becoming the dragon of the river Fleet has been central in the Voices of the Water project, providing a doorway into local history and an exploration of our relationship with the land and its resources.
“Knowing where you are by knowing where you’ve been” guides our work in the Story Garden and throughout Somers Town where, thanks to Gilbert Bayes’s work, representations of water creatures are everywhere.
A look at the estate’s laundry circles takes you back in time, right to when stories were told orally. We navigate the local and the global, from folk tales of local Bengali communities to young people’s personal stories and collective memories. We immerse ourselves in the past and envision a better future.
Notes from the Garden
A puncture is not how I envisioned starting the day, no one ever does. They always seem to happen when you’re in a rush, people are expecting you, and the weather is particularly…challenging.