"Long seen as a problem of only the poorest, the water crisis is increasingly affecting the wealthier nations, economic riches being no insurance against it. The management of water distribution will determine power relations, economic development, the relationship between rich and poor, and the destiny of countries and whole continents." --World Water Federation Report

In Thirst World Countries a twig with 18 leaves stretches across the otherwise gray, bleak painting. The glass vase is half full of water, leaving the leaves to wilt slowly yet still evoking a metaphor of optimism (by seeing the glass as half full instead of half empty). The leaves represent 18 countries that, according to the Water Poverty Index released by the British Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, will be first ones impacted by the imminent water crisis.