Getting thrown in the deep end

 

I first conceived of this project while pondering two of perhaps the most widely portrayed subjects in art, beauty and suffering.  My mind produced the image of a woman mid-flight, swathed in wild drapery, frozen above the surface of a pool.  The tension between the irreplaceable, momentary beauty of the falling woman and the cold shock of the water below intrigued me; it was February then, a time when it would be a very unpleasant thing to be thrown into a pool.  However once was not enough, I thought; to be thrown into a pool again and again without a chance for breath or recovery, that would be suffering.  But the images from such an event, of the figure flying and falling and splashing, could be very beautiful.

 

I approached a photographer, Jacqui Otley, whose work has a spontaneous energy and sophisticated sense of lighting and composition.  Her photos buzz with stange undertones, whether sinister, dreamlike, or simply quietly anticipatory.  She was also intrigued by the project.  To facilitate the actual throwing, I requested the help of my good friend Bryan Murphy, an illustrator and possessor of laudable upper body strength.  We found a pool to use, and by the time everyone's schedules aligned it was March.  On a particularly warm day, we assembled, and I spent 45 minutes being thrown into a still appreciably cold pool.  The images seen on the previous page are both the end product and residue of the experience.