sliding on the horizontal axis of the aquatic
online reading session, part of the navigating in/with/through the water online reading group by residues of wetness, 2021
“navigating in/with/through the water” emerges as a continued exploration of watery discourses and takes the shape of three reading sessions. The sessions look at a selection of written, visual and audio material. Through imaginary, scientific, material and linguistic accounts, every session considers water both fleeting and tangible. Manoeuvering various sources requires a direction; therefore, each session utilises a distinct orientation when thinking with the water: horizontal, circular, and tentacular.
“sliding on the horizontal axis of the aquatic”, the first session, travels to the open sea. This session is inspired by personal experience of living on a landlocked territory and rarely going to the sea, once a year or two. During the session, participants are invited to move from a terrestrial location towards the beach and stop by on the islands before submerging into the aquatic. The session proposes to observe how the surrounding environments change, how the experiences of space and time transform, and how visual and bodily responses adapt. Participants will look into some fiction and nonfiction writings and use them as their compass to explore changes, transformations, and adaptations on the move. The texts will also bring different approaches to thinking with and around water as a material, political and utopian body.
The reading list includes texts by Philip Steinberg, Italo Calvino, Michael Taussig, Dionne Brand, Stefan Helmreich, and Octavia Butler. In addition to the reading list, the session offers a digital space to engage with visual materials and quotes to guide the participants towards the open sea.
presentation: navigating in/with/through the water, self-organised online reading group, 2021
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