Chap.5-38 : The Architecture of Leakage

Three water tanks that cannot hold water

For this piece, I created three elliptical cylinders using perforated mild steel and connected them with threaded brass pipes. They reminded me of water tanks or industrial storage vessels, like the structures I often see around Melbourne.

I have been developing these brass pipe connections for years, using a tap and die to cut threads so that the components can be assembled and connected. I particularly enjoy this process, as it gives me the freedom to construct something almost like a miniature architectural system.

When I finished the pendant, I thought it looked like three water tanks connected together. But of course, they cannot hold any water because of all the perforations!

The three elliptical cylinders actually came from one large perforated cylinder I made earlier this year. I cut it into three pieces and then hammered each one in the middle to create the oval cylinder forms. I found this process quite fascinating, and afterwards, I thought they looked like three water tanks in my mind visualised for long time.

Although I had an idea of connecting them with threaded brass pipes and wire, I didn't know exactly how the connections would work. Somehow, I could already visualise how they should come together in my mind.

Just like the title The City and Its Uncertain Walls, there was uncertainty in working with these unfamiliar forms. But it was this uncertainty that led me somewhere unexpected, and in the end, I felt quite satisfied with the result.I jokingly described it to AI as "Three water tanks, but leaked." AI suggested The Architecture of Leakage, and I immediately loved the title.

Architecture suggests structure, planning and control, while leakage suggests something escaping or not functioning as intended. I found this contradiction quite interesting.

For more than 17 years, perforated mild steel has been one of my main materials. I have used the holes to create patterns, shadows, lines and surfaces. But in this work, the perforations suddenly have another meaning. They make the entire structure incapable of doing what it appears to be designed for.

It also made me think about The City and Its Uncertain Walls. We build walls, pipes and systems to contain, protect and control things. But can everything really be contained? Water, memories, emotions or even our identities?

What I particularly enjoyed was that I made the work intuitively, without thinking too much about its meaning at first. The title came afterwards, through my conversation with AI.

AI didn't design the pendant, but it helped me find the words to describe something I had already made.

Perhaps this is another interesting way AI can assist my studio practice — not by replacing my decisions, but by helping me recognise a different meaning in my own work.

The Architecture of Leakage
Perforated mild steel, threaded brass pipes and cord.
The City and Its Uncertain Walls series, 2026.