Swimming

In Swimming, I depict people wearing the same swimsuits and caps, moving in response to a command. For many people, school swimming lessons are a childhood experience of sharing the same time, clothing and movements as part of a group.

When I recall that experience, I find that the self who once stood inside the group is now looking at the whole scene from a distance. Individual faces and events recede, leaving a gathering of similarly dressed figures as a single image. Even bodies that appear uniform differ subtly in outline. By withholding facial expression, I allow those differences to bring each person into view.

Separated from any particular identity, the silhouettes become individual bodies again within memory. Swimming considers how an experience shared collectively remains as an image within the individual.