Research trip

What if

Abstract:

This work presents a speculative and emotional exploration of water as both material and presence. Departing from scientific data collection, the research embraces a subjective methodology, using sound to initiate a conversation with water. At the core of the project is the use of a hydrophone, capable of recording both above and below the water’s surface, creating a mirrored dialogue between two dimensions: internal and external, visible and invisible.

Inspired by the symbolic weight of water as origin, regeneration, and transformation, the project draws on mythologies such as Narciso, where water becomes both reflection and threshold. The sound recordings echo this duality, weaving together the voice, the water’s form, and its shifting states.

Following the natural water cycle from glacier to stream, river, waterfall, and lake, the research captures and responds to water in its various phases, including ice and snow. Each state contributes a unique sonic texture, forming a layered composition that reflects the environments encountered and the emotional resonance of each encounter.

What emerges is a sensorial documentation — a fluid tapestry of memory, voice, and landscape, where water becomes an archive of connection, vibration, and identity.

Journey:

The goal of this research trip was to follow water: to work with it, observe it, and interact with it using different kinds of equipment that would allow us to measure, and extract various types of data and information from the context.

From the beginning, my personal interest shifted toward a more subjective and intimate form of data collection. Since I was already working with more structured and scientific data in previous projects, I felt that this wasn’t the right moment to continue on that path. Given the experimental and speculative nature of the trip, relying on sensors and hard data wouldn’t have provided the kind of answers I was seeking.

What fascinated me the most during this journey was my own perception of water. The way HER holds multiple, often contrasting, connotations.

“L’acqua è considerata fonte e origine di ogni forma di vita, simbolo di rinascita e rigenerazione, elemento, sostanza magica e terapeutica.”

("Water is considered the source and origin of all forms of life, a symbol of rebirth and regeneration, a natural element, a magical and therapeutic substance.”)

-museo nazionale della preistoria della valle canonica-

With this in mind, I decided to use a hydrophone: a microphone capable of recording both underwater and above the surface simultaneously, thanks to its dual inputs. This allowed me to create a layered and mirrored perspective: the inner world of water, and the external world surrounding it.

I became increasingly drawn to the idea of water holding memory, water as a blueprint of our reality. The theory that emotional energies and vibrations could affect water’s physical structure, as explored in Masaru Emoto’s controversial but thought-provoking studies, inspired me deeply. I began to ask:

what if I could infuse water with my own voice? What would it mean to speak to it or through it?

As I approached this idea, another symbolic layer emerged: the myth of Narcissus. In Greek mythology, Narcissus is a young man who falls in love with his own reflection in the water, unaware that it's merely an image. He gazes into the surface until he wastes away, transformed into a flower. This tale speaks of reflection, illusion, and the power of water as a mirror, both literally and metaphorically.

This mirroring idea resonated with my setup: using one microphone above and one below the water, I was able to create a doubled interaction. It was no longer just a dialogue between myself and the water, but also between two versions of myself: the one outside the water and the one submerged in it. In this way, the conversation expanded: it became a layered interplay between internal and external voices, both mine and the water’s.

In parallel, I connected this reflective and emotional exploration to the actual water cycle; the one we physically followed during the trip: from glacier to stream, river, waterfall, and finally, to the lake. I reflected on water not only as a symbol but also in its material transformations. That’s when I decided to extend the “conversation” to include snow and ice, approaching them as distinct states of the same entity, with their own voices and textures.

All the sounds I gathered — from water in its various forms and temperatures — were then manipulated and composed to evoke the feeling of a conversation. A storytelling process where fragments of myself, the experiments, myths, landscapes, and the multiple states and identities of water come together. The final output is not a scientific analysis, but an emotional and speculative journey that captures how I encountered, spoke and listened to water during this research.

video and audio: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mhsqflwCEfyw5ZMck2HO8EqnY2Cl473R/view?usp=share_link