Personal Watersheds

Personal Watersheds – Artist Statement

A watershed is an area of land capturing water that flows toward one outflow point. In a given watershed, water moving from one place to another is both an active and passive part of the system. Water flowing through channels changes them in the process. Any change in the channel–whether artificial or natural, intentional or accidental–creates a cascade of impact downstream.

I’m fascinated with recent neurological research on mindfulness showing how thinking is a lot like water: inclined to flow through established channels, but also possible to redirect. Our brain structures are changing throughout our lives in response to our experiencs. Through practice, we can influence those changes. This is known as neuroplasticity, and it was an epiphany for me that it can be harnessed, from healing from depression to building resilience.

A “watershed moment” is a turning point after which nothing is the same. Like a mountain ridge forcing water to flow down one side or another, life is full of upheavals, chosen and unchosen. Either way, we’re forced to define a new course forward.

Sarah Nassif // June 18, 2022

The solo show Personal Watersheds opened June 18, 2022 at the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization alongside an installation of The Weaving Water Workshop. It included the video above, poetry and watershed maps, water collected in bottles, and artifacts shown in the video.