In modern times, the abundance of water and its constant availability paradoxically make it invisible. Underground circulation and complex hydrological systems, such as karsts, are relegated to the background of everyday life. Water becomes a mere factor of production.
Faced with this reality, initiatives are emerging. Counter-narratives are amplifying the voices and practices that are reinventing our relationship with water and the environment, away from the dominant discourses. In the Jura, the history of cooperatives, pioneers of social security, inspires collective water management. The karst, with its underground and borderless networks, calls for reflection on interdependence and the commons, inviting us to imagine new cooperative utopias around water.
In the form of an assemblage of aerial shots, 3D illustrations, interviews, and scientific images, this video essay explores crucial water issues in five chapters, from popular narratives to scientific knowledge, from the rejection of running water and its scarcity to the exploitation of rivers.
Counter-Narratives of Water — DISNOVATION.ORG (2024-2025): Video essay — 4K, stereo — 33'41" Research and texts: Clémence Seurat & Disnovation.org Voice-over: Rosalie Bribes Scientific imaging & 3D: Léo Lima & Jules Barton Editing: Dasha Ilina & Disnovation.org Sound: Disnovation.org
Support: Parc naturel régional du Haut-Jura Mediation-production: À Demeure Work created as part of the Nouveaux Commanditaires initiative and the Creative Europe programme involving Belgium, Spain, and France With the support of the Société des Nouveaux Commanditaires and the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation
Commissioned by Philippe Perrin, elected official of La Rixouse and representative on the regional council of the Parc naturel régional du Haut-Jura, along with speleologists: François Jacquier, president of the Club-spéléo San-claudien, Anne Corriol, teacher at the Montmorot Agricultural High School, and Wim Cuyvers, architect and forester Interviews: Vincent Bichet, Wim Cuyvers, Romain Bellier Thanks to: Valérie Cudel, Corinne Gambi, Marie-Pierre Reynet, Guillaume Bertrand, Anne Corriol, Wim Cuyvers, Vincent Fister, François Jacquier, Alain Mélo, Philippe Perrin, Marc Steinmann Sources: Bienne River map: SCIMABIO Interface, ENS Lyon, and University of Nottingham
Images of dry Doubs riverbeds: Daniel Richardet, Vision du Ciel
Fluid simulation (Glass Pipe): youtube.com/@Greenman2273
Montavoix map: Wim Cuyvers
Counter-Narratives of Water (Exhibition)
Counter-Narratives of Water (Videograms)
Screenings & Exhibitions
Trienal de Arquitectura de Lisboa, 2025 [PT]
Data Festival, Dublin, 2025 [IR]
Sans Réserve - Prix COAL, Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, Paris, 2025 [FR]
Preview: La Fraternelle, Saint-Claude, 2024 [FR]
