Pool Diaries: Nick Smith

Structured through timestamped observations, Pool Diaries follows the shifting conditions, behaviours and quiet absurdities that unfold around the pool across the course of a single day. Public or private, glamorous or municipal, these spaces seem to produce their own customs and choreography: lengths counted with devotion, towels arranged with ceremony, conversations held waist-deep in water. The piece June 2nd is divided into a twenty-four-hour format, with each colour chip representing a minute of the day, allowing you to read the story of the pool for one full summers day.

Working through close observation and subtle shifts in attention, Smith draws significance from moments that might otherwise pass unnoticed. A floating leaf, an inflatable flamingo, the collapse of ice in a glass -  details that gradually take on unexpected weight when looked at for long enough. In Diary of a Flamingo, Smith follows the inflatable through the course of a single day, imbuing the object with a quiet personality as it drifts through a world of sun loungers, swimmers and passing conversations. Through subtle humour and careful observation, the work becomes a tender reflection on presence, impermanence and the small dramas of everyday life.

Beneath the brightness and polished surfaces, Pool Diaries becomes a quieter reflection on time, presence and the peculiar intimacy of shared spaces. The works suggest that some of our most meaningful experiences occur not in moments of spectacle, but in those spent apparently doing very little at all.

Nick Smith is a Scottish contemporary artist whose work explores the relationship between image, language and colour. His work has been exhibited extensively throughout the UK and internationally, with recent projects including a collaboration with the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Smith's work is held in private collections worldwide and he continues to be a leading voice in ultra-contemporary art.