“Water Diaries” Exhibition by Johan Thom Opens at ARUCAD Art Space

Johan Thom meets audiences at ARUCAD Art Space with his first solo exhibition in Cyprus. Curated by Başak Şenova, the exhibition titled Water Diaries brings together three different series by the artist: Mexico Diaries (2024), Venice Diaries (2025), and Cyprus Diaries (2026).

The exhibition focuses on Thom’s intimate, everyday, and layered relationship with water, shaped through experiences across different geographies. Featuring works from the artist’s recent productions, the exhibition reveals the personal, political, and at times uncanny dimensions of encounters with water. Through these encounters, water is reconsidered as both a fundamental element sustaining life and a transformative force.

For nearly 25 years, Thom has described his abstract practice as “diaries,” developing a distinctive visual language through archiving, photographing, note-taking, and sketching. His drawings are often created using dense layers of blackboard paint applied to paper; the marks formed by folding and pressing surfaces together create Rorschach-like visual associations. Reworked with white chalk interventions, color stains, fragments of text, and found objects, these surfaces present a multilayered visual field that points to the relationship between sensory experience and written language.

The exhibition, open to visitors at ARUCAD Art Space from May 13 to June 6, 2026, held its preview opening on May 13, 2026. As part of the exhibition programme, a student meeting with the curator and the artist will also take place at the gallery on Thursday, May 21.

The exhibition was developed as part of the Soil & Water project, led by curator Başak Şenova and artist Johan Thom.