Produced over a span of three years in four countries, Pools From Above is the culmination of my long journey to discover the beauty in commonplace landscapes seen from unexpected vantages.
Initially inspired by my travels throughout Southeast Asia and Australia, I began capturing bodies of water to document holiday memories. It wasn’t until picking up Splash: The Art of the Swimming Pool by Annie Kelly that I invested time into curating my own series. As I turned each page of Kelly’s book, a wave of nostalgia washed over me, taking me back to summer days swimming in my childhood pool. Paying homage to Kelly, I chose to explicitly experiment with negative space, compositional balance, leading lines and symmetry. As such, the series emphasises the pools’ less appreciated elements that I fell in love with – their curves, sharp edges, diverse blue hues and the way elongated shadows play against their surfaces. This is all lost without an alternate viewpoint.
As much as I’m drawn to their visual features, I’ve come to learn that pools have distinct personalities – some evoking a sense of tranquillity, others a more solemn feeling. Pools, often appreciated merely as architectural objects, retain an innate ability to trigger involuntary memories. For me, they can evoke the smell of my favourite food, or resurrect memories of my favourite holidays.
As I look back at the 89 images, I’m reminded that the most harmonious visual elements of our world remain hidden to us — until we view them from a new perspective. Swimming pools are one of these subjects.
Brad Walls
https://www.bradscanvas.com/books
