Madrid means “land rich in water”, although almost nobody knows it.

That’s the opening line of the exhibition Aqueous Madrid, hosted by CentroCentro over the first few months of 2021. This book presents the exhibition project, shares its open research and discusses new lines of work that have been developed since then. It reflects the different perspectives of the collaborators who, influenced by Astrida Neimanis’ paper We are all Bodies of Water, contributed to it with their writings in addition to making a direct or indirect contribution to the research and work that went into the exhibition or to the public programme that was held in parallel to it.

Like the exhibition, this book seeks to revive forgotten relationships, encouraging readers to explore their knowledge of the city's ties to water and their perceptions and interactions with water itself and with associated processes. It aims to raise awareness of our city’s rich water heritage, exploring the past and present but looking to the future. An important part of this research was tracing the extensive and little-known network of streams that once ran through our landscape and gave rise to the city that grew up on the banks of a stream called the Matrice, and understanding and interpreting the nature of the system they comprised and how it evolved until it virtually disappeared and was ultimately forgotten.

The area’s streams have been recreated, as a first step, in the map provided with the book. Developed over the course of 2020 and revised in early 2022, the map includes and names as many as ninety-eight streams or watercourses that no longer exist. Although it was meticulously put together by overlaying a large number of historical maps, the list is still incomplete.

EDITED BY: Malú Cayetano
YEAR: 2022
FORMAT: 12 x 18 cm
PAGES: 248
LANGUAGE: Español / Inglés
ISBN: 978-84-18299-16-2
PUBLISHED BY: CentroCentro

Avalaible at CentroCentro, Casa de la Panadería and online shop.