Aquarium samples added to travelling museum
Samples of water from Bristol Aquarium have become the latest additions to an extraordinary Museum of Water which visited the city at the weekend.
Small amounts of water from the Amazon and Coral Reef displays and the quarantine area at the Harbourside attraction have become part of the travelling collection, alongside hundreds of other liquid samples from around the world.
The collection, which was started in 2013 by artist Amy Sharrocks, includes more than 500 separate samples from around the world; ranging from tears, and a melted snowman to water from fountains, sacred rivers and even birthing pools.
The mobile museum was originally set up to mark the bicentenary of John Snow who traced the movement of water in London to help identify and eradicate cholera in the capital.
Bristol Aquarium aquarist Jake Graham said: “We were fascinated when we discovered what Amy was doing.
“It’s an extraordinary project and we were delighted to be able to contribute our own exhibits to the collection.
“Our water samples have been fully catalogued and even have their own official identification numbers. We were even interviewed to provide more information on the aquarium and what we do there,” he added.
The collection, which is held in a variety of different containers ranging from tiny perfume bottles, jars and cups to buckets, oyster shells and even coconuts, will continue its tour of the UK and Europe.
Museum curator and founder, artist Amy Sharrocks, said: “We currently have over 500 bottles in the collection, ranging from water from a holy river in India, to a burst London water main, ice from a Sussex field, a melted snowman, 20-year-old evaporated snow from Maine, condensation from a Falmouth window, Hackney rainwater, a new born baby’s bath water, Norwegian spit, three types of wee, two different breaths and water from a bedside table said to be infused with dreams.”
Members of the public are also invited to donate their own samples to the collection.
Amy received a Special Commendation from the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management 2014 Nick Reeves Award for the Museum of Water, which was also voted ‘Best Special Exhibition’ in The Museum Oskars 2015.
• To find out more visit www.museumofwater.co.uk
Photo: L-R, Jake Graham, Amy Sharrocks and Charlotte Gee
Issued by Bristol Aquarium. For more information and to arrange interviews, picture or filming opportunities please contact David Waines or Sarah Moore on 0117 929 8929.
