“The uncanny arouses dread and creeping horror.” Sigmund Freud’s definition of the uncanny encapsulates Anna Dobrovolskaya-Mints’ solemn, desolate swimming pool scenes. The UK-based artist’s Somewhere to Swim series was taken during the Covid-19 lockdowns, where minimalist compositions draw attention to the lifelessness of ordinary public spaces. Viewers are plunged into a state of limbo; devoid of people, there is an unsettling emptiness that invites a second look. A monochromatic view of a drained pool is both bizarre and poignant, a homage to the emotional and psychological impact of the global pandemic.
Image Credit: Anna Dobrovolskaya-Mints, Greater London, 09/02, (2021).100cm x 150cm.
