Karine Laval

Poolscapes brings together two bodies of work—The Pool (2002–05) and Poolscapes (2009–12)—by French-born, Brooklyn-based photographer Karine Laval (born 1971), both focusing on the motif of the swimming pool. Presenting public pools in urban and natural environments throughout Europe and private pools in the US in two distinct sections, the book is arranged chronologically and shows an evolution in tone and depth, from the photographic to the painterly. The Pool series invites us into a sun-bleached public pool at midday, evocative of childhood memories and the experience of leisure and bathing. Gradually these geometric lines and familiar architectural structures give way to the abstract, often blurred shapes and colors of the Poolscapes pictures that oscillate between representation and abstraction. Here the pool becomes a metaphor, a mirror whose surface reflects the surrounding world but is also a gateway into a realm where bathers are distorted and fragmented.