Spiral Swim Singapore
This is the back-story of my recent artwork and NFT called “Spiral Swim Singapore”. The first time I visited Singapore was for work, back in the 1990s. The place was developing at a massive pace and had a boom town feel to it, construction everywhere. These days it seems rather finished, even gentrified, but at the time a lot of the original Singapore was still evident. There was both something urgently emerging, and perhaps something else being replaced. The old shanty districts were rapidly making way to a young, urban, restaurant and bar scene. And the harbor was developing into a glamorous casino set and Formula One venue.
I remember these corporate trips with mixed feelings: Usually it involved a rush of late night preparation, and unpleasant topics like budget spreadsheets.
And coordination with our Singapore colleagues often happened late at night US time or super early in the morning. So by the time we collapsed into our airplane seats to leave New York to fly to Singapore, the 18+ hour flights felt like a relief. I loved those flights for the sheer sense of respite.
I am heavily impacted by jet lag, and tried many “remedies”. The one that worked best was perhaps to have Chili Crabs and beer team dinners on the beach strip leading to Changi airport upon our arrival, which would knock me out for the night. If we were lucky, we would get to travel to Singapore over the weekend with some time to acclimate to the time zone change, and a lot of my photo captures originated from groggy weekend photo walks.
Singapore Photo Walks
The original artwork for “Spiral Swim Singapore” came from a shot taken from my room at the Ritz-Carlton, looking straight down to the swimming pool. Now, this was before drones.
I love “looking down” or “looking up” perspectives. It is not the usual way our human vision typically operates, and so often for me a new perspective is revealing.
I think I was also inspired by the shapes of the new architecture around me, which for me represented a mix of an innovative, rushed feel, but still with strong references to thousands of years of tradition.
About the Transformation
If you’ve seen my earlier posts, then you know I’m fascinated to see the human figure in architectural surroundings. What strikes me about the original image is the isolated and lonely feel of the humans, using the pool at the Ritz for fitness as part of their work routine, perhaps. This interim transformation is meant to reflect that.
Even though they are all using the same pool, they do not relate to each other. The feeling I get is the opposite of a “family pool party” vibe. For me, these corporate trips tended to be lonely, and the image perhaps mirrors some isolation I often felt.
The transformation then represents an exaggerated version of this distance, people in a spiral pool, a geometry that neither connects nor repeats.
Before and After
The Finished Artwork
Spiral Swim Animated NFT
I’ve made this artwork available as an animated NFT on the OpenSea marketplace as part of my transformations collection. Please consider supporting us by bidding on one of only 5 available editions — and unlock a glass print and some special content in the process.
Moreover, please know we partner with organizations to help produce, promote and market independent artists through a series of grants, including an art and marketing school specifically for artists. More about this in upcoming blog posts.
This NFT Includes the following un-lockable extras and benefits:
- A 23” large format glass print, ready to hang, shipped to you. Archival glass prints look amazingly deep, and are provided by Fracture.
- A super high-res printable version of the artwork.
- A super high-res printable version of the original photograph.
- High-resolution animation video.
