Water
Water is a striking, three-headed giant puppet created in the late 1990s as an act of environmental protest and public witness—a moving monument to the living waterways of our planet and a warning about the devastating impacts of nonrenewable energy extraction, including nuclear power and fossil fuels. Conceived in the tradition of Bread and Puppet–style political and community theater, Water transforms art into a form of collective action, carrying its message directly into the streets, parades, and public gatherings.
Rather than depicting a single character, Water represents a many-faced, many-voiced living system—rivers, lakes, and oceans bound together, harmed together, and in need of collective protection. The puppet was later gifted to ArtJoy’s Giant Puppets Save the World, where it continues its life as a performing work of environmental storytelling.
Materials & Construction
Water is made entirely from recycled and repurposed materials, using non-toxic, accessible methods consistent with the Bread and Puppet tradition of radical, community-built art:
Structure: Lightweight wooden frame mounted to a backpack harness for one-person operation
Heads and forms: Sculpted using papier-mâché techniques
Body and surface: Constructed from recycled vintage bedsheets and fabric
Finish: Painted with leftover non-toxic latex house paint
Despite its dramatic three-headed form, the puppet is designed to be lightweight, durable, and performable by a single puppeteer.
Size & Movement
Water stands approximately 9 feet tall. Its three faces create a commanding, almost mythic presence, while its balanced internal structure allows one puppeteer to animate it with fluid, wave-like, shifting movement that feels more elemental than character-based.
Purpose & Ongoing Life
Water was created specifically to protest the destruction and contamination of rivers, lakes, and oceans caused by energy systems that prioritize extraction and profit over life—particularly fossil fuels and nuclear power. In performance, it does not simply entertain; it bears witness.
Now part of Giant Puppets Save the World, Water continues to appear in parades, demonstrations, and festivals—reminding audiences that water is not a resource to be used up, but a living system to be protected.