Maria Svarbova In the Swimming Pool

Taking an interest in Socialist era architecture and public spaces, Slovakian photographer Maria Svarbova’s fascination with the space of public swimming pools contributed to developing her own visual style.

Sterile, geometric beauty of old pools set the tone for these photographs. Each of them pictures a different pool, usually built in the Socialist Era, in various locations in Slovakia. There is almost cinematographic quality to the highly controlled sceneries that Maria captures.

“My photographs are a succession of short scenes in which the frontality and absence of contrasts remove any narrative dimension.”

The figures are mid-movement, but there is no joyful playfulness to them. Frozen in the composition, the swimmers are as smooth and cold as the pools tiles. The colours softly vibrate in a dream-like atmosphere. Despite the retro setting, the pictures somehow evoke a futuristic feeling as well, as if they were taken somewhere completely alien.

There is no disturbing emotion, there is no individuality in their stillness.

– Discover more of Maria’s work here: Maria Svarbova