Free Swim 2022

Curator: What strikes me immediately is the quiet unease, the somewhat disconnected feeling despite the communal setting of the pool. Editor: Agreed. I almost feel a bit anxious looking at it! Now, this is Zoe Hawk’s “Free Swim,” an oil on canvas from 2022. There’s something about Hawk’s style… almost photographic, but decidedly painterly. What catches your eye structurally? Curator: It is primarily the composition that intrigues. The spatial organization relies on distinct planes, separating figures—and consequently psychological states—with this insistent geometry. See how the pool’s edge becomes a sharp divide? Editor: Right? It's like they’re living in separate panels of a graphic novel! I love the palette, though; the artificial turquoise of the water clashes beautifully with the strong orange pillars, and how that echoes the bathing suits, giving the eye lots to play with. What’s your read on the overall mood she establishes? Curator: Formally, I appreciate the restrained use of colour that generates an affect somewhat similar to the uncanny—particularly how it relates to an adolescent collective of experience that remains inscrutable. These bathers, they’re not in dialogue. Their narrative is personal. Editor: Maybe that’s the point, you know? We’re all alone, even when we think we’re together! This piece gets you thinking, gets you squirming a little. Maybe that’s Hawk's wicked intention. Curator: Precisely. “Free Swim” offers a commentary through careful arrangement of figure and ground. The individual psyche becomes architecture. Editor: Art as architecture of the soul! I’ll be swimming with that thought for a while. Thanks for the insights!