Illuminated intervention in a public swimming pool (conceived 2008)

The swimming pool, unlike the ocean or sea, is a circumscribed space. We intend to temporarily reverse this sensation of limited space by converting the walls of the pool to dark blue/black and fixing a series of battery-powered underwater LED lights in the form of a constellation (the one which can be perceived directly above the location where the swimming pool exists) to the floor of the pool. This would give the illusion that one is swimming through the universe – that which is widely conceived as infinite, limitless. What more, floating in water is also used in astronaut training to simulate the weightlessness experienced in conditions of zero gravity. Though, this is only an illusion, it serves to reflect upon the many different aspects surrounding the notion of movement – from individual physical motor skills to the choice to displace oneself through space – while highlighting the possibility of living in the fluctuation of one’s needs, and raising questions as to why human movement is often constrained. The choice to intervene on a public swimming pool is based on its crucial role within the urban context, both as a public space and a place for health, thus the project also aims to attract the public, through an alteration which turns its attention to the location and role of the facility within the community.