An exhibition curated by Àngels Miralda tracing the entanglements between water, colonial expansion and territorial exploitation
OPENING 19 JUNE AT 18:00
From
19
June
to 30
August
2026, Framer Framed presents the exhibition Wild
Waters: Dams and Deltas After Modernity,
curated by Àngels Miralda.
The exhibition traces the entanglements between water, colonial expansion and territorial exploitation through works by artists Jumana Emil Abboud, Suzette Bousema, Ewa Ciepielewska & Agnieszka Brzeżańska, Giovanni Giaretta, Adelita Husni-Bey, Anna Moreno, Suat Öğüt, Eunice Pais, Ashfika Rahman, Morteza Soorani, and Abdo Zin Eldin. Across their practices, ancient myths and contemporary struggles converge in the deltaic cultures of Bangladesh and the Ebro Delta, as well as along the Meuse, Vistula, Tajo and Tigris.
The
opening takes place on Friday 19
June
from 18:00
to 20:00.
We look forward to welcoming you!
The
exhibition Wild Waters:
Dams and Deltas After Modernity(2026)
examines water as both a resource and an instrument of political power, tracing the ways hydraulic have shaped landscapes, histories and systems of environmental exploitation across different geographies.
The Dutch landscape is interwoven with water: a vast network of rivers, canals, aquifers and engineered waterways flowing above and beneath the ground. For centuries, inland water has been both a source of life and a persistent threat to Dutch society. In response, engineers constructed dikes, canals and storm surge barriers to protect land that lies below sea level. These produced not only safety, but also a national mythology of mastery over a resource that doesn’t always flow in such abundance.
During the era of global modernisation, dams and river engineering came to symbolise technological progress and national development. The Aswan High Dam, completed in 1970 under Gamal Abdel Nasser, brought hydroelectric power to thousands of Egyptians and transformed the Nile into an emblem of postcolonial ambition. Yet such projects have often been accompanied by displacement, ecological damage and the erasure of histories. In neighbouring Libya, the canalisation of wells enabled Italian colonial authorities to control access to water as a mechanism of dispossession, while the later abandonment of infrastructure contributed to the catastrophic floods in Derna in 2023. In occupied Palestine, the Zionist project framed through the idea of “making the desert bloom” was predicated on the extraction and redirection of underground waterways tied to longstanding traditions, agricultural practices and oral histories.
Floods and hydraulic interventions emerge as tools of political erasure: from the submerged Kurdish town of Hasankeyf, to the Shatt al-Arab where the Tigris meets the Karun, communities face pollution, ecological collapse, and forced displacement from lands long regarded as the cradle of agriculture. As the climate crisis intensifies, access to fresh water is increasingly threatened, while continue to redirect and commodify this vital resource in service of political and economic power.
Participating Artists Jumana Emil Abboud Suzette Bousema Ewa Ciepielewska & Agnieszka Brzeżańska Giovanni Giaretta Adelita Husni-Bey Anna Moreno Suat Öğüt Eunice Pais Ashfika Rahman Morteza Soorani Abdo Zin Eldin
Curator Àngels Miralda
Graphic Design Sarp Sozdinler
Opening Friday 19 June from 18:00 to 20:00. Register here.
Opening Times 20 June – 30 August 2026 Tue – Sun, 12:00 - 18:00
Suat Öğüt, Completing the Disappearing Landscape (2022). Courtesy of the artist.
ADDRESS
Framer Framed 71 1093 KS Amsterdam
OPENING TIMES
Tue - Sun 12:00 - 18:00 Free entry, pay what you can.
ROUTE
Framer Framed is located in the purification hall of the former and can be reached on foot from Muiderpoort and Oostpoort.
ADDRESS
Framer Framed Noord Z369 – Sociaal & Cultureel Centrum Zuideinde 369 1035 PE Amsterdam
ACCESSIBILITY
All Framer Framed programmes are free of charge. Donations are welcome. Our space is wheelchair accessible. Read more about what to expect during your visit here.
