An abstract sculpture made of plastic tubes mimicking the flow of a waterfall extends downward from the second floor to the lower level of Main Building — the centerpiece of the fall Rotunda exhibit on water.
To commemorate the end of summer and the beginning of the school year, community members submitted photographs of water taken during their summer travels. In addition to these photos, the exhibit features video montages, water facts, poems like Make Me Rain by Nikki Giovanni and The Changing Landscape by Christopher Rand, and artwork by photographer and environmentalist Tom Blagden ’69.
The exhibit even touches on themes of social inequity, as a bright red water pump on the main floor represents the unequal burden girls under the age of 15 have in some countries to collect water for their families.
Over the summer, Ms. Joan Baldwin, curator of special collections, gathered more than 100 submissions for the showcase, a process she described as “the most popular thing I’ve done in a decade.”
She sought photos that varied in composition, location, and subject matter: “I looked for photographs that were a little bit different: a different place, a floodline, a porch in the rain, or rain drops up close.”
The selected photos show water in a plethora of forms and locations. In many of them, community members captured sunsets on the piers or views from lakes, rivers, and waterfalls. The artwork ranged from a close-up of a sea turtle in an aquarium to the passing of an ocean wave on the beach.
Ms. Baldwin initially selected the theme of water due to its familiarity and necessity. “I wanted to select something that everyone knew,” she said. “Water seemed like something we all enjoy and yet we all need.”
After the theme was finalized, Connecticut entered a prolonged drought, making water an even more relevant and fitting topic. Ms. Baldwin hopes the exhibit will remind students and faculty of our dependence on water.
“Whether we’re in a drought or not, water and our need for it is something we all need to think about, especially here where it appears to be plentiful,” she said.
Mary Tyree ’23, whose photo depicts a punt in Cambridge, England, documented her travels as well as her experience interacting with water in an unfamiliar place. “The water in this image is fascinating because it is from another country. I felt like it was important to be at the Hotchkiss exhibit because it shows different cultures [and] how other people utilize water in different areas of the world,” Tyree said.
Additionally, Emily Wang ’25 explored the waters of California through her two photos of the clear ocean surface glistening on a summer day and the pier in UC San Diego. Wang said, “Although we can use the pier to go out and see the ocean, we also have to make more of an effort to respect and give back. If we’re not taking care of the beaches and oceans, I think that that would be totally unfair to the environment.”
Volunteering at an animal sanctuary called Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Sea Phongsphetrarat ’24 photographed an elephant walking through a stream. There is a long history of exploiting these animals for commercial use in Thailand, Phongsphetrarat hoped “to convey the same happiness the elephants are experiencing in this sanctuary onto the photograph. With their trunks up, the elephants show elation.”
Reflecting on the significance of the exhibit, Ms. Baldwin said, “I hope to encourage some dialogue and discussion about water, whether it be random conversations in the hallways and Dining Hall or more structured discussions in the classroom. Water is a necessity and something we’re often cavalier about, but it also feeds our souls.”
To see the exhibit, visit the Rotunda in the center of the Main Hallway on the first floor.
