Within Water

Oil on canvas, 100 × 110 cm

A body-on-frame construction, four-wheel drive, high ground clearance, low-range gearing, stability control, and electronic hill-descent and hill-start assist systems. Power is transferred to the wheels through a complex sequence of components: engine, transmission, differentials, sensors, and control units. The suspension is designed for uneven terrain, the vehicle’s mass for stability, and its geometry for overcoming obstacles. The vehicle is made to hold its course where the surface becomes unreliable. Inside is an insulated space: leather, soft-touch panels, climate control, heated and ventilated seats, multi-zone airflow, an audio system, surround-view cameras, navigation, and memory settings. Everything is arranged so that movement remains controlled and the outside environment stays separate. But water does not distinguish between trim levels. It fills the air ducts, enters connectors and cavities, drains the screens of power, muffles sound, and deprives the instruments of their readings. An engine designed for traction no longer produces movement. The viewing system cannot see. The heating does not warm. The music does not play. What remains is the outer contour — still recognisable, still beautiful in its pale, composed form. But gradually it, too, ceases to signify power, status, or possibility. In the body of water, the vehicle becomes simply an object: a surface that holds light; a construction that depth slowly translates into its own language. Here, water is neither background nor obstacle. It acts as an independent material environment: concealing, distorting, holding, and stripping a thing of its familiar purpose. The object remains visible, but it no longer belongs to itself. It belongs to the depth — and to its silence.

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