WE ARE WATER is inspired by MniWiconi, Water is Life, a sacred recognition indigenous to this land and its peoples (spoken from north america usa). WE ARE WATER IS A LANGUAGED RE-ARTICULATION, speaking through, and thus underscoring, THE cognitive orientation of THIS CULTURAL LANDSCAPE, the modes in which REALitY is appreciated, approached, and produced, and the acute constructed location of THE SELF within the encouraged and dominant channel of perception. 

(supporting essay through the cognitive science department, columbia university barnard college - subscribe for publication, coming soon)

We are water, installment i -

we are water: A photographic campaign which every living being is innately a part~ A PHOTOGRAPHIC SERIES relating to our fundamental interCONNECTEDness. “WE ARE WATER BY STUDIO J/P ROBBINS: PROJECTS - MADE IN COLLABORATION - including all life on the planet regardless of agenda or creed” -

Studio J/P Robbins specializes in commercial portraiture and awareness-raising initiatives that motivate for felt-change. Unlike traditional photography campaigns, We are Water is not supporting a specific agenda that an individual can be for or against. Instead, We are Water brings awareness to what is — what we are all made of and what life initially was and continually is supported from and through. In this way, We are Water also functions as an imagined campaign that includes every living being on the planet. This awareness-raising initiative is made in collaboration: we are all a part of creating the world we imagine. It is a global conversation in metaphor, of which we are all innately a part. Water represents and reflects how all of humanity is connected to one another and the planet. We are Water.

Water is Life. As visual koan, the We are Water campaign is presented in a grid format conveying a mosaic representative of our interconnectedness to all bodies of water including our own. Since its first installment in 2017, we invite everybody to participate and become a part of the series. The campaign’s infrastructure was conceived in this way because every human being, regardless of their personal agenda, is both made of water and actively impacts our shared water sources, a realism which the series underscores and honors. We are all connected to how we protect or pollute the water on this planet. Our individual and group impact creates our collective impact. 

We are Water We are Water was inspired by the sacred recognition of Mniwaconi Water is Life and relanguaged for the ego-centric framework of cognitive engagement currently encouraged in America and throughout many parts of the world today. The relationship that exists within the words of the languages we speak through and think within, inform how we can perceive, come to know, and are known. The form of the word(s) itself and it’s juxtaposed binary composition, the way it inspires pathways of comprehension via the physicality of its articulation, and the frequency of the soundcurrent itself, all have appreciated impact on us.

Mniwaconi the first installment was shared in 2017 after September 9th’s rally for Standing Rock. Since then, three more installments were added to the campaign: Art Helix 2017, Miami Art Basel’s “Art and Activism” 2018, and “Life as Ceremony” Biannual Journal 2019. In all four, viewers were invited to participate in the campaign by becoming a part of it themselves. We even created a facebook profile picture filter to help support this visual participation and remembering. In recognizing the need for kinder infrastructures, we also are actively creating a network of clean water initiatives throughout the globe, and shared their presence as video portraits within the campaign grid. We are continually building this awareness-raising campaign together. If you would like to join our network please Dm @studiojprobbins on Instagram. We also invite corporate and commercial participants as sponsors. Becoming a part of the We Are Water initiative includes a personalized series of We are Water images. We believe that shifting the “campaign” framework in this direction is critical for the reorientation towards a collective acknowledgement of our shared planet, for whether or not there is environmental sensitivity established within a company, cooperation and/or individual, we are all still integrally interconnected, and it is essential to begin recognizing this profound truth.

We are water, installment iii -

installment iii miami art basel: art and activitism a feminine perspective AIMS TO CONNECT POLICY-MAKERS, PRAYER-KEEPERS, WATER-PROTECTORS, WATER-USERS, PEOPLE, ALL PEOPLE. WE ARE WATER IS A CALL FOR ACTION, A PRAYER FOR RECOGNITION, AND A CELEBRATION THAT WE DO HAVE THE ABILITY, RIGHT NOW, TO PROTECT ALL of NATURE’S WATER SOURCES. THAT WE DO HAVE THE ABILITY, RIGHT NOW, TO ENCOURAGE NEW POLICY SYSTEMS THAT NOT ONLY PROTECT WATER SOURCES, BUT ALSO ALLOW FOR EVERY LIVING CREATURE TO HAVE ACCESS TO THIS NEEDED RESOURCE. 2018, WE ARE WATER AIMS TO ENCOURAGE A REALITY WHERE NO HUMAN BEING IS SUFFERING OF THIRST, WHERE NATURE’S WATER SOURCES ARE RECOGNIZED AND PROTECTED, AND WHERE POISONING, POLLUTING, AND DESTROYING OUR WATER SOURCES, ARE NO LONGER POSSIBLE.