Lisa Bate - Waterlog

Waterlog is an exhibition of contemporary glass works by Lisa Bate in response to the
environmental pressures on freshwater systems of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

Glass has been used to demonstrate how contaminants enter our waterways, then get distributed by moving currents.

The fragile qualities of glass parallel the vulnerable state of our waterways. Glass can be liquid or solid, a shape-shifting material, sharing qualities similar to water when heated.

The kiln casting process has led to results that are both controlled and chaotic.
Presented here are the reactions that occurred during its molten and fluid state; the merging of glasses and opacity variation from clear to cloudy, suggest changes in water quality, or murky polluted water.
Lisa resides by the Taihiki River, a tidal river estuary in the Franklin Region. This is a selection of work from an evolving series, originally shown at The New Zealand Steel Gallery in Pukekohe, late 2025.