Swimming Opposite – Pool Ladies, London, 1987 Photographer: Michael Joseph Original photograph: London, 1987 Medium: Photographic print on aluminium Series: Pool Ladies Presentation: Bespoke painted wooden frame From the Michael Joseph Archive Two swimmers, two directions, one wonderfully hypnotic composition. In Swimming Opposite, Michael Joseph photographs the women from directly above as they float past one another, eyes closed and seemingly oblivious to each other. Their opposing positions create an almost perfect visual balance, while the rippling water dissolves their bodies into patterns of light, texture and movement. For this new-generation interpretation, the photograph has been printed on aluminium — a medium that seems made for an image of water. The extraordinary quality of the piece only becomes fully apparent as you move around it. Light plays across the aluminium just as it plays across the surface of a swimming pool: silvery areas shimmer and flare, darker passages deepen, and different details emerge according to the viewing angle and changing light in the room. The effect is beautifully fluid and almost impossible to reproduce in a still photograph. From one position the swimmers dominate; from another, the reflected metallic surface takes over and the water itself becomes the subject. The substantial metallic frame continues that interplay of reflection and light, giving this 1987 photograph a strikingly contemporary presence nearly forty years after it was taken. Part photograph, part reflection — a wonderfully serene image that appears to shift and shimmer as you move around it. #MichaelJoseph #PoolLadies #SwimmingOpposite #AluminiumPrint #PhotographyOnAluminium #BritishPhotography #LondonPhotography #1980sPhotography #FineArtPhotography #SwimmingPhotography #PhotographicArt #PhotographyCollector #CollectiblePhotography #MichaelJosephArchive #StatementArt