Dowsing across fields

Interested in how water-control sets daily routines and geopolitical equilibriums, this ongoing research investigates the relationship between community, water and its infrastructure. What kind of political, social and economical values define the perception of water and rule its distribution? By counterposing different systems of beliefs, values and logics, the project aims at stimulating awareness by speculating on new models for sharing such a limited common resource.

1st episode focuses on the controversial figure of the dowser, a person capable of sensing water underneath the ground through unconventional methods. This practitioner makes water accessible for communities by creating wells and hence influences human settlements. Will dowsers maintain a role in a future dominated by capitalistic/scientific worldviews? Could their work reshuffle the way water is distributed beyond privatisation?
This research became a multimedia installation consisting of a video, a performance, sculptures and a series of poems and drawings.

2nd episode is Unknown Sources, 3rd episode is As Common as Well, and 4th will be a Larp game!

Images and video: Alcaeus Spirou & Rositsa Atanasova