Taking the Water Sample, Mark Hopf

Artist Statement: I like knowing I'm making something that is going into the archive, for the future. I spent time with people testing water, educating the public, maintaining roads, and thinning the forests. This was capturing history so that people can see the effort it took for essential workers to provide something for the common good. In this case, maintaining the watershed and providing clean water for Seattle and beyond. When people look at these photographs today, tomorrow or sometime in the future I hope that they have an emotional reaction and at least a glimmer of the truth about the real people who did this work. I hope that they can see the reality of what is essential work in the 21st Century. They have all worked to preserve vital infrastructure, maintaining the watershed and delivering water to the masses, an act of mutual aid.