水 shuǐ

水 (shuǐ) is an illustrated book on water. It offers a collection of fresh ideas and perspectives through which to experience and imagine this common and commonly overlooked substance.

The Five Books is a series designed around the five elements of the material world—Water (水; shuǐ), Wood (木; mù), Fire (火; huǒ), Metal (金; jīn), and Earth (土; tǔ)—looking at the ways they influence and inspire our art, design, food, and culture.

Water runs through every civilization.

There is water so there is the spout and the fountain, ink wash and Impressionism, Venice and Chand Baori, wine and poison, the hammam and the onsen, Vikings and iceberg hunters, rice, baptism, the millilitre, and thin-lipped cups...

As source and resource, water has quenched thirst of every kind: it supplies the artist as well as the doctor, the astronaut and the diver, the poet and the pious, the chef, the king, the farmer.

Shuǐ is a collection of ideas from those who draw from this wellspring. Accompanied by original artwork, each idea is interpreted typographically lines flow here or rain down there, then gush, meander, eddy or pool still, collecting into a volume that is wet through with insight and imagination.

Yvonne Xu is an art and design writer and editor based in Singapore. She has worked on projects such as the Singapore Pavilion at the World Expo 2020, the D&AD Pencil-winning book Brand Guide: Singapore Edition, and the much-loved A Design Film Festival and FoodCine.ma produced by Anonymous. As a design journalist and magazine editor, Yvonne has contributed to publications including Design Anthology, Habitus, and Monocle. She graduated in English Literature from the National University of Singapore. She is also the author of 水 (shuǐ), the first of The Five Books.

Pages: 128
Dimensions: 135 × 185 mm
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Year: 2022
Publisher: Anonymous