Dagmar Radmacher
Drawing
Buckets Of Grey Water
written pen and ink drawing over 70 salvaged and recycled A4 pages, 210 x 208cm, 2023. Also re-produced as a limited edition art book.

when I was

a kid

my father

always

emptied

our bathwater

into buckets

to use for the toilet

instead of flushing

never just pull the plug

buckets of water

buckets of water everywhere

buckets of grey water

lasted

a few days

from bath day to bath day

buckets remained

with bits of water left

when full

the buckets where heavy

and cumbersome

a good aim was needed to pour

some of the

buckets were not buckets

but

other

bucket sized

vessels

once

I got caught peeing

into the bathwater

so nice

and warm

letting go

my mother

became

very angry

angry

there were also

buckets

in the garden

buckets

and big barrels

collecting

rainwater

barrels of rainwater

for the vegetable

garden

my mother

needs

no water

anymore

the soil

takes care of

her

now

my father

still collects

water

but mostly

tears

in buckets

everywhere