Confluence of European Water Bodies

Siobhan’s work with the Confluence of European Water Bodies focuses on the River Liffey and explores new ways of understanding water, ecology and the Rights of Nature. The Confluence brings together artists, activists, lawyers and ecologists representing rivers, lakes, seas, lagoons and glaciers across Europe, creating a growing community of care and concern around the future of water.

Through this network, Siobhan explores how the Liffey might be understood not simply as a resource or landscape, but as a living entity with its own agency, history and voice. Her practice contributes to wider conversations around water democracy and representation, considering how new cultural, legal and political relationships with rivers might be imagined and developed.

Image: Ocean Space, TBA21, Venice: https://tba21.org/oceanspace

https://water-bodies.eu/manifesto/

About the Confluence of European Water Bodies

Water is vital for all life on Earth, yet her voice is rarely heard in political decision-making. Born out of growing water challenges and demands for water democracy worldwide, the Confluence of European Water Bodies sprang from a collective pursuit of a deeper understanding of ‘Rights of Nature’ in Europe, from a cultural perspective. Formed by over 25 grassroots communities of artists, activists, lawyers and ecologists, representing seas, lakes, rivers, lagoons and glaciers from all over Europe, this growing community of care and concern aims to foster new dialogues and relationships with water. As a learning system for water diplomacy, new strategies for effective representation of water in Europe’s cultural, legal and political realm are being explored, rehearsed and advocated.