Tales from the poolside

“Crime,” it said on NPO.nl as I was browsing for something to watch last night. A few hours later, I found myself deep into a binge-watch session of the French series Rivière Perdue.

In the third episode, I watched a scene of a girl sitting high up on a diving platform. “I know that platform”, I thought. The next shot is a wide view of the swimming pool – and I immediately recognised the Piscine Municipale where I had a swim and made Poolside #2.

And it’s not just one funny coincidence. Today, I delivered two of my framed Poolside works to BLAUWcc, a gallery and concept store in Rotterdam, dedicated to all things blue.

So, a bit of background of these Poolside works. Piscine Municipale Jean-Jacques Caille is a beautifully colourful public swimming pool in Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda (a bit of a mouthful huh?) in the south of France. I stumbled upon it by chance during a bikepacking trip from the Rhône-Alpes in France to Barcelona and back up to Perpignan. It was near the end of my journey – I’d just spent a magical night sleeping under the stars at a medieval watchtower and had an easy day ahead, mostly descending towards the coast.

At some point, I cycled past this beautiful pool and immediately turned around to see if it was open – and if I’d be welcome to swim, and ideally, take photos. It’s always hit or miss, but the staff were nothing but enthusiastic. Luckily for me, after the chilly downhill ride, the pool turned out to be heated – and almost entirely mine. I followed a short swim session with a much longer photo session. I climbed the diving tower, explored the poolside. The light wasn’t any good for a wide overview, but other shots from that day are now gallery-worthy :-)

I never would’ve guessed that this pool would one day appear in a crime series. If anything, the pool from my Poolside #1 piece – also delivered to the gallery today – feels like a better fit for that genre.

Poolside #1 was made in Gran Canaria, where, after my walk across the island, I spent a couple of nights at a windsurfing center. It must have been be off-season as I didn't find a surf vibe. Think long empty corridors and large dorm rooms. But with a decent pool. It was the only affordable last-minute option as a solo traveler and sometimes those are the best weird experiences. Most guests were older German and British men, seemingly staying the season, not for windsurfing, but mostly drinking. They looked on with mild amusement when I went out for a refreshing morning swim.

Once in the pool, I felt I had to get out. Not because it was cold (though it was), but because I needed to grab my camera from my locker, get back in the pool, and capture what had caught my eye. Completely frozen but in the flow, I continued around the poolside. I love those moments of being in the flow, doing my thing.

You can now find these works at Gallery and Concept store BLAUWcc on the Zwaanshals in Rotterdam, surrounded by all things blue. Definitely worth a visit!