120.000" Under the Pool


An immersive installation in which the viewer has the sensation of being underwater. Since our time underwater is generally so limited I wanted to impart the bizarre yet tranquil feeling of dipping below water’s surface.


Total time: 5m50s (looped)
A special thank you to Rebeca Méndez.
What began as a general interest in the history of swimming pools but segued into a study of human being's relationship with water, particularly water that is used for recreation. I focused on the phenomenology of being underwater and the pleasure that the sensation derives.

For the installation, I built a 7' x 8' projection screen that I suspended from the ceiling of a 9' x 10' room. Pool floatation devices were placed around the room for people to lay down and look up.

The projected video is footage I filmed from the bottom of a 10-foot deep swimming pool in Los Angeles.




© 2023 Elisa Michelet

Mark