Drawing through (Im)material Trajectories of Water
Abstract
This paper investigates how drawing research can trace the (im)material trajectories of water and articulate care as a material and spatial condition.1 Through a situated drawing practice centred on a particular brass faucet, the study examines water’s movements across material, temporal, and spatial scales, positioning drawing as a method of close spatial engagement rather than a final representation.
The trajectory of water guides the drawing strategies and, in turn, shapes the trajectory of the research itself. Combining technical drawing, endoscopic imaging, and mould-making, the study unfolds through three interrelated phases: (un)veiling the artefact, stories and layers of water, and caring through speculating. By assembling these trajectories, the research reframes architectural drawing as a critical, creative, and caring practice that engages with dirt, ambiguity, and material vulnerability.
The paper contributes to discussions in practice-based architectural and artistic research by proposing an inter-scalar and inter-spatial mode of drawing research that reveals how water mediates care relations between human and more-than-human actors, and how such relations can inform architectural thinking and the production of spatial knowledge.
1 – This drawing research was initiated within the PhD course Special Topics in Architectural Design at Istanbul Technical University, focusing on drawing practices and drawing research theory, under the supervision of Bihter Almaç and İpek Avanoğlu during the Fall 2025–26.