“Future Flows” is a fascinating examination of human intervention in the natural world — in particular, our effect on water resources and the planet’s changing climate.

The current exhibition at the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art runs through July 6 at the San Rafael gallery, not far from the fire department and public library.

Visitors will be astounded at a huge installation covering almost one entire wall: “Yuma, or the Land of Friends.” What appears at first to be brown and-black granite tiles is actually a massive layering of satellite images, aerial photos and cartographic maps about the El Quimbo dam project in Colombia’s Yuma River region.

Los Angeles-based artist Carolina Caycedo put this piece together as part of her ongoing educational efforts about the impact of dams and resource extraction on communities and ecosystems. It’s a daunting piece.

Caycedo also has a high def video, “Land of Friends,” in this exhibit, portraying life among Indigenous communities along the Yuma River.

Equally fascinating is “Oracle” by Mexican artist Amor Muñoz, opposite Caycedo’s large installation: a collection of dark gray textile sculptures resembling dripping water.

Several of its elements respond to touch, provoking sounds of streaming liquid. Cheryl E. Leonard’s “Littoral” is also a sound installation, with a timeline pinned to the wall telling visitors what they are hearing during the 30-minute sonic excursion. Nearby, natural forms and sculptures enhance the work.

Another collage of photos and drawings is “New Public Infrastructure” by Lauren Bon and Metabolic Studio. Made of more than 500 photos taken by David Baine during a redirection project of the Los Angeles River intended to restore natural flow to at least part of the L.A. basin ecosystem, Bon’s large image evokes scifi going back to Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis.”

Along the floor along the gallery’s front wall are four large video panels with images of rippling water. “Wave Set Tessellation” by Oakland based artist Pete Belkin is a reminder about Earth’s most important resource. It’s also a beguilingly pleasant visual installation. In the midst of the gallery floor is performance artist Patty Chang’s 1999 video piece “Fountain,” wherein the artist repeatedly kisses her own aquatic reflection, clearly a riff on our narcissistic nature.

Resembling a couple of brightly colored board games are two ink-on-paper pieces by Lordy Rodriguez: “London River Thames with One Inch Sea Level Rise” from 2024 and “Siling Lake Tibet” from 2023. Both of them are compelling cartographic depictions of the interaction of large bodies of water with the surrounding landscape, their effects on the human community and humans’ effect on them.

A San Rafael public arts commissioned work is another brightly colored cartographic exploration of the interaction of water, land and people. The untitled collaborative piece by Rodriguez and a group of students is both visually intriguing and thought provoking.

An artistic and practical scientific display in one of the gallery’s side rooms is “Living Shorelines,” a collaborative piece about restoring and protecting the most essential and vulnerable parts of the waterland interface. Included are samples of cast concrete structures that serve like coral reefs to support the growth of marine plants and animals.

“Future Flows” is an effective reminder about our most important natural resource, one that no one should take for granted. A visit to MarinMOCA reinforces this importance in stunningly nonverbal language.

Contact Barry Willis at barry.m.willis@gmail. com