Hughen/Starkweather, Detail of Water As Currency, 2026. Gouache, ink, acrylic paint, graphite, sand, salt, dirt, gold, wood, concrete, brick, and river water on paper and wood panel, dimensions variable.
WATER AS CURRENCY
Water as Currency is an immersive sonic-visual installation by Hughen/Starkweather and sound artist Joshua-Michéle Ross at the historic Mining Exchange building in downtown San Francisco. The artists investigate the interconnected and complex water systems of the San Francisco Bay Delta Estuary, mapping impacts of extraction (gold, salt, sand, water) and emerging landscapes of restoration using sounds and materials collected throughout the estuary watershed. This site-specific installation takes the visual and sonic form of a fractured landscape and responds to histories and futures of resource trading, technology, and innovative green solutions. Mining Exchange Museum, 350 Bush St., San Francisco. April 22-September 11, 2026, Open Monday-Friday, 9am-6pm
Hughen/Starkweather, Detail of Water As Currency, 2026. Gouache, ink, acrylic paint, graphite, sand, salt, dirt, gold, wood, concrete, brick, and river water on paper and wood panel, dimensions variable.
Hughen/Starkweather, Detail of Water As Currency, 2026. Gouache, ink, acrylic paint, graphite, sand, salt, dirt, gold, wood, concrete, brick, and river water on paper and wood panel, dimensions variable.
Hughen/Starkweather, Detail of Water As Currency, 2026. Gouache, ink, acrylic paint, graphite, sand, salt, dirt, gold, wood, concrete, brick, and river water on paper and wood panel, dimensions variable.
The historic Mining Exchange building in downtown San Francisco. Water As Currency sound and visual installation responds to this site and its histories and futures of resource trading, technology, and innovative green solutions
Hughen/Starkweather, Detail of Water As Currency, 2026. Gouache, ink, acrylic paint, graphite, sand, salt, dirt, gold, wood, concrete, brick, and river water on paper and wood panel, dimensions variable.
Hughen/Starkweather, Storage, Transmission, Conveyance, 2025, acrylic paint, ink, gouache, sand, dirt, and river water on paper, 61 x 52 inches
Hughen/Starkweather, Possibility of water (discarded bits), Ceramic, gold leaf, copper leaf, silver leaf, gouache, ink, sand, dirt, borax, salt, and river water on paper, Dimensions variable, 2025. This installation references the large drill bits used to pipe water out of ancient aquifers, and a circular nest of beaver teeth. The reintroduction of beavers into riparian landscapes is widely seen as a solution for multiple climate issues, including drought, ecosystem health, aquifer recharge, and wildfire intensity.
Hughen/Starkweather, Multiple shallow channels diverge and rejoin, 2025, gouache, ink, sand, paper, and river water on wood panel, 14 x 11 x 1 inches
Hughen/Starkweather, Sand, Shale, Oil, Watershed, 2025, Acrylic paint, gouache, river water, ink and paper on wood panel, 8 x 10 x 1 inches
Hughen/Starkweather, Signs of Recovery, 2024, acrylic paint, ink, sand, salt, gouache, bay water, and paper on wood panel, 14 x 11 x 1 inches
Detail of Pipe Dreams installation — glass, sand, ink, and paper — at Fort Point, San Francisco, 2023, as part of FOR-SITE’s Keepers of the Fire. More information and images here.
Hughen/Starkweather, Interwoven Terrains, 2024, acrylic paint, ink, gouache, sand, dirt, borax, graphite, and river water on wood panel; enamel on bronze, 80 x 197 x 4 inches
Hughen/Starkweather, Interwoven Terrains, DETAIL INCLUDING BRONZE
Hughen/Starkweather, Smoke Scattered Light, 2024, acrylic paint, ink, graphite, gouache, river water, salt, dust, sand, and borax on paper, 44 x 90 inches
Hughen/Starkweather, Still from Sea-Winnowed Light, 9:30 min loop, video, 2023. Exhibited at FOR-SITE’s Keepers of the Fire at Fort Point, San Francisco, 2023. More information and a short clip here.
Hughen/Starkweather, Ash Up To My Shins, 2023, acrylic paint, ink, pencil, gouache, salt, borax, river water, and dirt on wood panel, 40 x 120 x 2 inches. Below: DETAIL
Hughen/Starkweather, Ash Up To My Shins, DETAIL