THE NINE GUARDIANS
OF WATER
How can we be guardians of Mother Earth’s water?
“The Nine Guardians of Water” is a polyptych consisting of nine paintings inspired by the legendary nine dragons of Chinese mythology and influenced by Filipina-American composer, Susie Ibarra, and her “Water Rhythms: Listening to Climate Change.” This creation asks us to imagine: How can we be guardians of water?
While tradition speaks of nine dragon sons of a dragon king, I have chosen to create nine dragon daughters of a dragon queen. Each daughter plays a unique role in protecting Mother Earth’s water, from calling for justice to consuming toxicity. The daughters together serve as the Nine Guardians of Water as follows:
1. The Composer
2. The Warrior
3. The Shield / The Adventurer
6. The Bulwark
8. The Teacher
Influenced by Ibarra’s “Water Rhythms,” the paintings depict water’s music and how such music ties in with the heartstrings of our humanity. Part of being in harmony – being in tune – with water’s voice is to listen. By listening intentionally to how water sings, we allow our heartstrings to thrum seamlessly in time with nature’s steady beat. When our heartstrings are woven together in union with water’s voice, that is when our healing can begin. That is when we can create a new and more hopeful song in concert with Mother Nature.
“A world losing its flowing water is hence a world losing its music, its culture and its humanity” (Ibarra and Knoppes, “Water Rhythms”). We mustn’t let this happen. This polyptych is a call to the community to keep water’s song alive by becoming guardians ourselves.
“The Nine Guardians of Water” was featured in the exhibition, “Sowing Agency: Seeding the Future for Environmental Justice,” organized by the Asian American Women Artists Association (AAWAA), from April 30 to May 23, 2021.
