Water Seeks Its Own LeveL

Water Seeks Its Own Level  is a publication collectively written by DAI’s 2021-2022 COOP Study Group SOIL IS AN INSCRIBED BODY: on Agropoetics, Land Struggles and the Aesthetics of Sovereignty of the Dutch Art Institute, in collaboration with SAVVY Contemporary. It was first introduced to the public of Città Alta, Bergamo (Italy) in August 2022, during a presentation carrying the same title.

*We thought every human thinks in our language, having to translate it into their language only when speaking out loud. When I say there is space between us, I don’t mean the void in between —no, in between us there is only a substance known as time. Time is an expression for blood (Hennes vener blev flod-flytande), which is always mistaken for water.* 

Throughout the year, the study group, tutored by Sagal Farah, Billy Fowo and Akinbode Akinbiyi, have engaged with studies of land struggle and extraction, mainly focusing on the relationship to soil. The Dutch Art Institute is a roaming art academy, and during the 2021–2022 study year, the students and tutors have traveled to Lithuania, The Netherlands, Italy, France and Berlin. During these trips, it was crucial to find connection to the land they were walking; the countries they were visiting and the connections they had to histories of oppression, aiming to decentralize the West and its histories. This took place in different forms: through studying texts, taking (silent) walks and visiting the (culturally loaded) surroundings. This publication is a text collectively written throughout the year, during and right after the sessions of walking, speaking, listening and collectively napping.