Up Close: Pools

Photographer Stephan Zirwes’ ‘Pool’ series illustrates the incredible waste of potential drinking water – not only in private pools but also in the privatisation of a public asset for commercial reasons.

  • Words + Photography: Stephan Zirwes

The ‘Pools’ series is a study of water: one of the most precious resources for life on our planet. My approach was to show water as a location for entertainment, but also to show the incredible waste of potential drinking water – not only in private pools but also in the privatisation of a public asset for commercial reasons.

Public pools are an important reminder that water should be free and accessible to everyone. The clean formal language and the simple design of the pictures treat this newsworthy issue with an elegance… almost a playfulness. I copied parts of the original pool tiles and enlarged them in a clear, visible way to create a kind of mount in patterns and take the viewer on a deep dive into the blue.

Stephan Zirwes is an award-winning German photographer.

Article taken from

Issue 02
Articles

Further Reading

View All

A Shot in the Dark

It makes up 80 per cent of all the matter in the universe, yet no one has been able to find it. Could the XENON1T project be about to solve the mystery of dark matter?

What a $100,000 Canoe Looks Like

‘I love that it takes so long to make canoes,’ declares Trent Preszler. The artisan boat maker took up his craft after his father died, using the tools he inherited to create a canoe over the course of fourteen months.

The Desert Fathers

In the third century, thousands of Desert Fathers abandoned the cities on the Nile to seek out the paneremos – or inner desert. William Atkins contemplates the ancient Christians who founded the first monasteries.

Polar Deficits

A powerful new short film highlights the brutal realities facing a species struggling for survival, seen through the eyes of the people who are dedicating their lives to halting the unthinkable.

The Anatomy of an Antarctic Explorer

Last December Louis Rudd became the first Briton to cross Antarctica using muscle power alone. Here he describes in precise detail how the 925 mile crossing impacted on each part of his body.

Pluto’s Horizon

Two-thirds the size of the moon, the distant dwarf planet Pluto is easily overlooked, and yet recent discoveries could make it the most exciting body in our solar system.
Browse by Category