A Glossary of Water is a substantial publication presented as an artist book, a scholarly reference and a beautiful object. Edited by José Roca and Juan Francisco Salazar, A Glossary of Water is a limited edition aquatic artefact, a companion to the 23rd Biennale of Sydney, titled rīvus. The principal working themes – weaving and rivers – naturally expand towards topics like rights of nature, sustainability, food security, consumption, pollution, biodiversity, extinction and ancestral technologies.

This publication sheds light on an important and urgent subject and highlights the deep connections that Australia has to its waterways and bodies of water. The book follows the logic of a glossary, using approximately 80 terms as headings and “definitions” such as creek, dam, estuary, flood, weave and weft. A Glossary of Water has been printed sustainably on excess paper stock of different types and weights from previous book projects, rather than recycled paper, giving the profile of the publication the look and feel of the sediment of the river.