A sibling to the “Well: Drinking System” project, “Plugged” acknowledges the vast complexities in drinking water-related issues across the United States (and beyond). Whether it is an instance of lead contamination from old pipes, groundwater pollution from fracking, or lack of access after a natural disaster, there is no single solution for guaranteeing fresh drinking water for all citizens at all times. Like “Well,” “Plugged” is a didactic product meant to be used in areas that have yet to be afflicted by a drinking water crisis. Users receive the glass without a plug and are encouraged to integrate the glass into their daily routine by plugging the hole with whatever they have at their disposal. Plugs can be permanent or temporary and ever-changing.
Practically, the glasses help the users to get creative with their problem solving, allowing them to personally solve a very small-scale water-related problem in their own home. This small moment of creative problem solving illustrates that if they can imaginatively solve a small problem with their own resources now, hopefully, they will have the confidence to creatively solve (or contribute to solving) a much bigger problem with their own resources in the future. Symbolically, the “locally sourced” plugs represent the vast differences in regional water issues while laying-out an ideal where communities are given the resources to solve water crises that are appropriate and holistically healthy for their own communities.
”Plugged” glasses are custom blow-molded forms fabricated with the help of glass artist Andrew O’Hughes at Urban Glass, NYC.