Woven Waters - an interplay of Art and Science

What could happen if I put in the same pot the analytical “precision” and the uncertainties of science with the interpretive nuance of art and creative practice?

That was not exactly the question I had in mind when I started working on a 60-second promo video for the upcoming session I will be leading at the Conference: Shared Pathways to a Sustainable and Just Future in Vrije University Amsterdam.
However, in this session, Woven Waters, with my colleagues from Perfect Storm, we set out to answer this question, crafting a video that delves into the interplay between global drought-to-flood events and the human stories woven into them.

Yet again, the process worked as a tool, a practice to unfold the information and communicate the (un)knowledge.

At this conference, we will be debuting the portable science/art exhibition “Woven Waters”, an exhibition that fits in a Travelling Suitcase and consists of interactive installations ready to tell and collect stories from past and future extremes.

Next stop will be in Kitui and Nairobi, Kenya in February; Iquitos and Lima, Peru in June; Tokyo, Japan in July; Vancouver, Canada in August.

Stay tuned for further information on the Travelling Suitcase exhibition

“First came the clips”

Checking the multimedia material from the field my colleagues Alessia, Heidi and Ruben had collected could only inspire me. Field research in any scientific area, physical, natural, social, or human, is a wonderful journey of curiosities, questions, excitement, uncertainties and usually held enthusiasm, as the logistics, admin and planning drain from the same vein!

Opening the shared folder of the multimedia collected during field research felt more or less like I was sneaking through a personal diary I shouldn’t be reading from! Yet inviting and shared for a reason, the feeling of snooping was apparent. I tried to switch on a David Attenborough narrator voice in my head, treat the material as a self-exploratory documentary, and take a quick look at the video clips, recordings and photos from Kenya and Peru. (more information on the project and fieldwork https://perfect-storm.org/)

“Then came the poem”

Water sustains life and shapes every land
Oceans, storms, rivers, we know by heart
In the Anthropocene era, chaos runs deep
Droughts and floods, the world cannot sleep

Behind black screens, we crunch the unknown
Models and numbers, uncertainty’s grown
Each detail we add, each layer, each chart
Pulls further from life, the waters impart

But we are not data—we’re stories, we’re streams
We’re hopes and struggles and shared living dreams

Stories from valleys and rivers that wind
Revealing the threads that connect humankind
Through a Suitcase, these voices take flight,
Where science meets art, and voices fight.

On a tapestry of dreams, of actions and care,
A call to the world for the burdens we share.

We are not data—we’re stories, we’re streams, we’re flares, we’re screams.

“And then...”

At its core, the video (and, in extension, the exhibition and session) Woven Waters is rooted in the scientific study of cascading climate hazards; Droughts to floods are more than meteorological phenomena; they are harbingers of social, cultural, and ecological upheaval. Using data and knowledge from the Perfect Storm project, we present these patterns not just as statistics but as lived realities—complex narratives of adaptation, resilience, and vulnerability.

Visualising (or even materialising and communicating) these concepts “scientifically” (whatever that means for everyone) involved interpreting datasets, mapping out extreme weather/climate transitions, and contextualising/modelling them within human experiences. But where raw numbers and models excel at analysis, they often falter at emotional resonance. Enter art.

Art (and creative practice) became the medium and tool through which these patterns could breathe and speak. Using animation, poetry, narration, and visual metaphors—like rippling water and interwoven threads—I aimed to create a language that could translate complex science into universally accessible imagery.

The interplay between art and science in Woven Waters reflects the theme of the video and the session’s discussion prompt: shared burdens. Both disciplines, though distinct, grapple with the unknown, seeking to make sense of the world. Where science provides clarity, art provides meaning. Together, they create a holistic approach to understanding complex challenges like climate change.

This synergy isn’t just theoretical; it has practical implications. We can reach wider audiences, spark empathy, and inspire action by weaving scientific rigour with artistic expression. The arts-humanities-sciences divide is not a wall but a bridge—one we must traverse to address the intertwined crises of our time.

If you happen to be in Amsterdam on the 30th of January, join our conference session!

Woven Waters - an interplay of Art and Science

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