In this presentation, my works celebrate the sentience of water. Water, a life-sustaining substance, becomes my indispensable collaborator. The works presented here bear witness to its expressive and dynamic presence, as well as its creativity and sense of non-human agency.
Collaborating with water allowed me to personally push beyond my own printmaking boundaries. For instance, in the Big Thirst series, water kidnapped from the Caribbean Sea, containing salt, minerals, and organic matter, has been coaxed to interact with metal plates pressed onto printing paper soaked in this rather volatile medium. Over the course of a few days, the remnants of the accelerated oxidation on the plates are transferred onto the paper. In turn, I respond to the nuanced markings and rich coloration registered on the paper, by adding my own set of images using intaglio processes.
In another work, equally playful in its making, involve capturing and printing bubbles formed through a combination of water, ink, and soap. Additionally, one piece explores the traces left by water subjected to gravitational force.
The water involved comes from diverse locations, including Chile, Cuba, Iceland, Canada, and Brazil. This spirited substance, brimming with its own complex and storied life, profoundly influences the ways in which I conceptualize and engage in these collaborative printing endeavors.
When water is perceived solely as a resource, a mere material for daily use, or as something to be readily exploited, its agency and spirit have been denied. In exploring the sentience of water, I am compelled to rethink my actions in this world, acknowledging my complicity in the negative impacts exacted on our shared planet, which we cohabit with all other more-than-human beings.
—Ed Pien
