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. 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.

Keywords: water, care, artefact, drawing research, practice–based research