Wellcome Collection to present Thirst: In Search of Freshwater, a major free exhibition exploring humanity’s vital connection with freshwater as an essential source of life and a pillar of good health for both living beings and land masses.
Spanning times and cultures, from ancient Mesopotamia to Victorian London, and extending to modern-day Nepal and Singapore, the exhibition will bring together art, science, history, technology and Indigenous knowledge from communities past and present, offering a comprehensive understanding of the environmental, social and cultural relationships we have with freshwater.
Featuring over 125 objects, including contemporary artworks, historical artefacts, meteorological records, new discovery research and materials from Wellcome’s collection, Thirst will take visitors on a journey through five distinct conditions: Aridity, Rain, Glaciers, Surface Water and Groundwater.
Each section will highlight the profound impact that access to freshwater has on the health of individuals, communities and ecosystems, and explore its life-affirming, regenerative and healing nature. They will also address the consequences of water’s mismanagement around the world, from the spread of infectious diseases to exacerbating the effects of climate change. Alongside these urgent challenges, the exhibition will share moments of hope and joy through stories of resilience and innovation, showcasing community-driven, regenerative solutions to the global water crises.
The exhibition will feature new and recent works by Gideon Mendel, Chloe Dewe Mathews, Anthony Acciavatti, Susan Schuppli, Adib Dada, M’hammed Kilito and Adam Rouhana; along with new commissions by Raqs Media Collective, Karan Shrestha and Feifei Zhou and Zahirah Suhaimi (SEACoast). ...
A new commission by Raqs Media Collective, Thirst/Trishna (2025), presents a multichannel installation that will explore the paradox of the absence and unpredictability of water and the perpetual desire for it, linking the experience of descending into the ancient stepwells of Rajasthan, India, to the present-day challenge of water scarcity. ...
The exhibition will conclude with a second new commission by Raqs Media Collective titled Sometimes farther than the sun (2025), which speculates on the future of water mining in space through augmented reality.
