The act of painting is often seen as a solitary pursuit; we picture the artist alone in a studio, working through compositional puzzles and experimenting with materials of their own choosing. For Dima Rebus, the process is collaborative, although she may or may not know the other participants. In her large-scale works, the London-based artist adds new meaning to “watercolor” as she incorporates water samples collected from strangers around the globe.
In her series Floaters, Rebus processes these crowdsourced units by freezing them with watercolor pigments, which she then allows to melt across the substrate, creating abstract color fields. She then adds figures and elements of landscape, often with a fluid, rippling effect evocative of light glinting off the surface of a lake, as aquatic themes emerge in the form of pools and swimmers.
“Noon Floaters” (2025), watercolor on paper, chemical solutions, rainwater, and water samples from strangers, 140 x 300 centimeters
“Nearly every sample arrives with a letter, opening a dialogue shaped by place, mood, memory, and time,” Rebus says. “Over the years, I’ve built an archive of waters from rain, rivers, seas, oceans, and glaciers, each preserved as both material record and human message.”
Find more on the artist’s Instagram.
Detail of “Noon Floaters”
“Afterimage VII” (2025), watercolor on paper, chemical solutions, and rainwater, 110 x 200 centimeters
“Nothing Matters Until An Empty Sofa Says Otherwise 1” (2026), watercolor on paper, chemical solutions, rainwater, and water samples from strangers, 110 x 86 centimeters
“Intuitive Course VII” (2025), watercolor on paper, chemical solutions, rainwater, and water samples from strangers, 42 x 80 centimeters
“Morning Floaters” (2025), watercolor on paper, chemical solutions, rainwater, and water samples from strangers, 140 x 300 centimeters
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