Christopher Saucedo : The Traumatizing and Transformative Power of Water
By Joshua Bone
“ We could either drink the water or wash or clean with it , but we couldn ’ t do all of the above ,” reflects artist and sculptor
Christopher Saucedo in the aftermath of 2005 ’ s Hurricane Katrina . “ So we had a rationed water supply .”
He pauses to peer outside his Rockaway-based studio where he now lives and works . Located a hundred feet away is Jamaica Bay on the south shore of Long Island , New York . As the sun begins to set , the waves roll upon each other and evoke a sense of calm . Yet , Saucedo knows water is capable of so much more .
Before Katrina , Saucedo was fascinated with how people related to water , specifically how much water we displace or take up . One of his earliest experiments involved the artist stepping into a large barrel of water in order to assess his fluid volume . It wasn ’ t until after Katrina that he began thinking creatively and critically about clean water and its availability .
“ I ’ m overly concerned with water as a restorative force and as a destructive force ,” he says . “ It ’ s pushed its way into the subject matter of my work .”
Saucedo has seen the destructive nature of water firsthand , twice . Right before Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans , he packed up a few possessions , his family , and his two dogs and evacuated to Houston , Texas . Upon returning , he was faced with an inhabitable house and an inhabitable city . In his ruined house , he stumbled across a cabinet of drinking glasses ranging from shot glasses to tumblers . Each one was filled to the brim with
“ ”
I ’ m overly concerned with water as a restorative force and as a destructive force .
— Christopher Saucedo
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