Donate 
Jordane Saget joined forces with SOLIDARITES INTERNATIONAL for World Water Day on 22 March. An interview with a committed artist.
Hello Jordane, could you first introduce yourself in a few words?
It’s always difficult for me to introduce myself because, like everyone else, I could present myself in different ways: I could show you my identity card, tell you about my hobbies, my daily life… But if it’s the artist that I have to present, then I would say that I am a contemporary artist, who likes to touch everything, especially if it means making a connection with the Other.
You are known on the art scene for your trio of poetic lines that you draw notably on the walls and pavements of Paris. As part of your collaboration with our NGO on World Water Day (22 March), this trio of lines was used to decorate a monumental fountain connected to a tanker truck and exhibited on Place de la République in Paris. What did you want to symbolise?
For me and SOLIDARITES INTERNATIONAL, the idea was to materialise the way in which your teams bring drinking water to populations hit by conflicts and natural disasters in particular, who, from one day to the next, no longer have access to water and are forced to drink contaminated river water.
You also planned to distribute bottles designed by you to the first 1,000 people to arrive at the Place de la République, provided that they answered a short questionnaire on access to water. A particularly successful awareness-raising operation, wasn’t it?
Yes, it was a complete success. I still find it hard to believe that hundreds of people went to the Place de la République and waited for hours to get a bottle. And at the same time, that was precisely the idea of this distribution: to make people aware of the wait that millions of people go through every day to get the water they need to survive. In addition, people were really willing to ask questions, which made them more aware of the challenge of accessing clean water. It’s amazing to know that many women and girls around the world spend several hours collecting a few jerry cans of water when, in France, we consume more than 150 litres per day per person!
Now that the event is over, what will you do with the fountain?
I have put a copy of the 45 wrought iron panels that make up the fountain up for sale in order to reimburse the costs incurred in building it and also to donate part of the money raised to SOLIDARITES INTERNATIONAL. Do not hesitate to visit https://www.jordanesaget.com/jme if you are interested in purchasing one or more panels. As for the fountain, it should become a travelling work of art, exhibited in museums or localities to continue telling its story…
Thank you for your commitment and your generosity Jordane!
©Michael Bunel