Eight Glasses (Rain Water Collection on Nothingness), 2002

For this project, I sought out a barren island, the most isolated setting I could possibly imagine. After searching for a suitable site for an entire summer, I eventually found a small nameless ledge off the coast of Deer Isle in Maine accessible by kayak, where I could work completely undisturbed. I named it Nothingness, and returned for the following two summers. A series of Water Collection Projects addressed modes of collecting, purifying and storing water, which was crucial to my survival. I experimented with various techniques, one being a version of a solar still, distilling salt water into drinkable (but not great tasting) water. In the end, collecting rain proved to be the most effective way to obtain drinking water. Since we are often told to drink eight glasses of water a day, I decided to set up eight glasses and wait for the rain to fill them. I drank them one after the other. Edition of 10