Ritual Ocean

Water receives, holds, surrounds, swallows, reflects, it is familiar and at the same time illusive and resistant to definitions. It is found in vast quantities but it is never enough. Its collection and distribution is an inalienable factor of survival.

Ritual Ocean explores such relations through sculptural forms and textual experimentation in the environment of Nisyros, a place inscribed with hydrological patterns, from the water scarcity management systems and public baths, to the island’s own crater-like shape that resembles a huge reservoir. Drawing on the study of traditional, modern and DIY water management and desalination systems, the project takes a look back at the landscape’s turbulent relationship with water. The term “ritual ocean” is a hypothetical neologism referring to the idea that a water container located at the sea level is influenced by its currents and shares its properties, like a portable piece of the hydrosphere.

Between poetry and ceramics, the work approaches water harvesting as a poetic process of meditation. Ceramic sculptures, water basins resembling hollow turtle shells, were created from clay harvested from the Stefanos Crater – the lowest point on the island – volcanic rocks and sand. Meanwhile, the experimental text of the same title produced during the residency explores sensory routes for finding water under the summer sun.

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