Drop Machine
series of prints and object, 2025

production: Adem
Modeling, Engineering: Mathieu Zurstrassen

The Drop Machine operates by producing a single water droplet per minute, remaining dormant otherwise. This slow, deliberate act transforms the sculpture into a living, breathing entity that speaks through its minimalistic, transient traces. Each droplet forms an organic, fluid mark—an ephemeral glyph—that collectively compose a nonverbal alphabet. Unlike conventional symbols carved or painted on stone or canvas, these water-based symbols are impermanent; they appear, exist briefly, and then fade, embodying the transient nature of life itself.
This organic alphabet, composed of ephemeral water droplets, evokes a nonverbal system akin to the alien communication depicted in Denis Villeneuve’s film Arrival. In the film, circular ink-like symbols serve as a bridge across language barriers, emphasizing that meaning can exist beyond words and syntax. Similarly, the water droplets in this art object propose a mode of communication rooted in impermanence and abstraction—an intuitive, visceral language that relies on the physicality and temporality of natural elements.
The object lies offers a new way of apprehending reality—one that emphasizes change, impermanence, and the organic. It suggests that meaning need not be fixed or static; instead, it can be fluid, evolving with each ephemeral trace. This approach encourages viewers to reflect on the fleeting moments that constitute existence and reminds us that understanding can emerge from the ephemeral, much as meaning arises in transient water marks rather than permanent inscriptions.