Frequently Asked Questions
What is water with water?
An experimental publishing project and visual research lab. Our work is a funky international mix of historical and vernacular references with dynamic visuals in the form of unique printed books, ephemera, merchandise, and apparel.
Who is water with water?
W/W/W is a visual research project started by Nathan Ross Davis in 2015 with the help of Sarah Elawad. After years of messing around, W/W/W is now a full-grown intercontinental powerhouse, producing a range of excellent to mediocre psychedelic visual speculations. Nathan is an Associate Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar, and Sarah Elawad is a design educator and artist living in New York. Along with other cool people, Nathan and Sarah meld their minds to make things they want to exist in the world. As we grow and move and learn new things, we work with new people - This year, we have added Hagar Allam to the team, and Samah Sulyman is a pillar of student productivity that we cannot overlook. More about our tiny team is here.
What does "water with water" mean?
That depends on who you ask! The phrase comes from an Arabic saying: "فسّر الماء بالماء" which translates to "explain water with water." It is often used to describe a kind of circular reasoning when someone is "talking in circles." For us, it is recursive, something with itself, and self-explanatory. This question has generated a fair amount of discussion. We meet people worldwide with diverse worldviews and values, and this simple phrase opens up many discursive possibilities. We like that.
Where does W/W/W get funding?
Many of our activities are funded through VCUarts Qatar's Institute for Creative Research through the Qatar Foundation. Some projects and studio activities are funded directly through sales of previous editions.
Where are W/W/W projects produced?
One of our aims is to build creative potential here in Doha and support creative networks in New York and elsewhere. So, we prioritize the creative development of the economy in Qatar. We try to produce most of our work where we live - in Doha and New York. When products and materials are unavailable locally, we also connect with North American, European, and UK vendors. We are always searching for good printers and interesting community-based publishing projects to work with on print projects, so if that’s you, send us a link.
Does W/W/W trade publications?
Sometimes, we give our work to certain individuals and organizations (you know who you are). We also trade with sympathetic publishers who have shared interests. This helps us build a collection of publications we can use internally and with students at VCUarts Qatar as a creative resource. We price our projects reasonably so interested parties (huge fans!!) can take home something meaningful and precious.
Why are W/W/W publications limited edition?
Limited edition, in our case, means that once something is produced, it cannot be produced again. We are an art practice that uses design tools and some design methods to make small quantities of unique artwork. We do this as a personal challenge to continue producing new work. We’d rather do a lot of different projects than a lot of one project. Since we have the privilege of not focusing on profit, there is less need for large-scale production. We also think scarcity is, in some ways, a good thing. Printed materials and physical products should generally be smaller in quantity and higher quality whenever possible, providing more value to the owner.
Who collects your work?
Individuals and institutions, elderly people, little kids, squares, moms, dads, weirdos, and… you? It's never too late to start, of course. For more details about the institutional collections we are in, click here.
Where can I buy W/W/W zines and merch?
We are shipping internationally, so if you are abroad, brace yourself because shipping from Qatar is abnormally expensive. Suppose you’d like to skip the shipping cost. In that case, our work is currently distributed by Printed Matter in New York. Several of our zines are available at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. We have lots of work in the Diriyah Biennale Design Shop in Riyadh. Possible Worlds sells a few things… the Neurotitan bookshop in Berlin may still have a few copies, FullyBooked in the UAE, Salt and Pepper in Tokyo, and Christophe Daviet Thierry in Paris has a few items. We recommend you check out your local artist's bookshop and ask for some W/W/W publications! Tell them to contact us if they don’t have any, and we’ll hook them up.
In Qatar, we now have a delivery service available once a week. Buy it on the website, and we’ll send it ASAP. You can also purchase select works at the Qatar Foundation Gift Shop and Studio 7 Msherib.
To buy from us personally, find us at one of the artist book fairs! We try to attend a few fairs annually. We usually announce where we will be on our Instagram. Be sure to stop by and get some stickers and other cool stuff.
How can I work with you?
We generally work with folks who show an interest in our projects and aim to develop their creative practice in a way that fits with our activities. We want to help members of our team become better thinkers and producers. There are lots of ways that this can happen. We generally prefer VCUarts Qatar alumni, though other EC alumni could be included if they were a good fit. We often don’t advertise opportunities because we are a tiny art practice with many moving parts. Things change quickly. If you are interested, share a link to your work! We always love to see what people are up to. If we think it's a match, we’ll let you know.