For me, swimming is a metaphor for painting. The painter and the viewer enter the same space, but experience it in different ways. Some elements are sharp and specific. Some elements are abstracted and can be interpreted in multiple ways. Darkness might be water or the depths of space. Bits of light could be air bubbles or stars.

When swimming, I feel a momentary break from the world. Sounds are muted, light changes and bounces around in a way that doesn’t happen above water. I’m more aware of the environment around me pressing into my skin, buoyed along as if there is no gravity. Like flying in a dream, the smallest movement of an arm or leg propels me through space and time.

I am acutely aware of the privilege of swimming. The idea of utilizing the amount of water it takes to fill a swimming pool for recreation is something that I never take for granted. Water is a basic human requirement. It is both otherworldly and critical, and I strive to represent both the magic and the necessity of this element to human existence.