Aque’s practice connects desire and sexuality to the latent power structures and dynamics of public space. Through sculpture, photography and video, Aque often combines images or traces of individuals and urban sites, making evident the inherent vulnerability of private desires. For Aque’s latest body of work, water is taken as a central theme. In the gallery, six photographic diptychs are installedalongside a two-part fountain installation; at Liste, another two-part fountain will be present in the booth alongside additional photographic works.

At Liste, eight images of flowers comprise a single work, Growth (Garden), beside two images of the skyscrapers of New York City, Growth (Knoll) and Growth (Meadow). All are encased in an acrylic box, inset under a linen passe-partout. The photographs themselves are gum bichromate prints, a labor-intensive process which requires each color to be individually exposed with UV light, resulting in a quality almost akin to a watercolor.

The sculptural work is composed of two identical basins with water and a hand-cast glass element, titled Circulation (Swapping Spit). The two halves of each fountain pass water back and forth between eachother through PVC tubes, emptying into the glass element. As the water passes between the fountains, it runs by a germicidal UV-C bulb, sanitizing and cleansing the water.

Water is present in Aque’s works both as a tangible, biological, bodily material, but also as multilayered reference, invoking the rivers which surround Manhattan and the role of memorial fountains, in which water is reused and recycled.