ABSTRACT

Water has been a subject of cultural thought and representation over centuries across diverse continents. It is used and represented in art, philosophy, religion and literature. Past and contemporary depictions and imaginaries of ZDWHU LWV VXUIDFHVDQG UHÀHFWLRQV LWVGHSWKDQGXQGHUZRUOGVKDYH VKDSHG ways of living with, and dreaming about, rivers, oceans, streams, rain, snow and ice. The Musée de L’Orangerie in Paris became one such place for dreaming when, after World War I, Monet donated to the state his canvases of lakes and water lilies in order to create a place of repose in a bustling city. 7KHVH FDQYDVHV FRQWLQXH WR ¿OO WKH FXUYDFHRXV ZDOOV RI WKH PXVHXP reminding of us of gentle and lavish waves, and as such capture common metaphoric meanings of water as renewing, calming and cleansing. There are also many compelling examples of water, art and depictions of human and non-human well-being found in past and contemporary Australian Indigenous art. Paintings on rock and canvas hold cultural stories, which are woven into images of place, with the most recurring being spiral lines representing running water, circular forms recording the presence of water holes and Rainbow Serpents who reside in waterholes to regenerate land. Together WKHVHGHSLFWLRQVIRUPDPDSEXWDOVRDVSLULWXDOSODFH±DVWRU\RIWKHGUHDPLQJ

These artistic constructions of water speak to place-based meanings and VKRZ LQWHUVWLFHV EHWZHHQ HOHPHQWV SODFH DQG VXEMHFWV 0DFDXOH\ S,QWKLVZD\ZDWHUDVDQLPSRUWDQWDVSHFWRIQDWXUHLVPRUHWKDQD natural resource but is inescapably social; thus concepts like ‘social natures’ or ‘social/cultural and material natures’ assist us to recognise the ways in ZKLFKHQYLURQPHQWDQGFXOWXUHDUHLQWHUWZLQHGDVUHODWLRQDODFWDQWV&DVWUHH DQG%UDXQ S ,W LV LQ WKLV QH[XV EHWZHHQ WKH VRFLDO KLVWRULFDO political, cultural and the material that this book positions its point of enquiry to examine water use and allocation at the local level in times of drought and water scarcity. At the forefront of this enquiry is an interrogation of the politics of place in irrigation communities to decipher knowledges, discursive meanings and practices that give rise to how water is governed, accessed, and its impact on livelihood and well-being. This book demonstrates that questions

of social justice and unequal distribution of resources and risk conspicuously come to the surface during times of drought. It illustrates that water is a political subject occupying a unique position, moving between the natural and social worlds.