Alison Locke

Flow

'Swimming invokes many senses; the sensation on the skin of entering and exiting the water, the sound of splashes and echoes, the feeling of the bubbles being breathed out and perhaps the feeling of gasping for oxygen, the vision of sunlight streaming through the turquoise water, and if you’re lucky a beautifully coloured fish. As a swimmer I am interested in the state of consciousness that my brain enters while swimming laps, sometimes hundreds of them, up and down the pool or ocean. It is a state similar to, but also distinct from, the mental state known as “flow” that many artists experience when creating, where time seems to disappear. Swimmers, on the other hand, tend to be acutely aware of time and the encroaching muscle fatigue as they count multiple kilometres.'

'This artwork is an abstract response to my experience as a long-distance swimmer. It began with me trying to create shapes that resembled hand-writing where words had been washed away, as a response to the way thoughts flow through my mind while swimming.'

About the artist

Alison Locke used 3D animation software to create this artwork, and she also creates work as a painter, using oils on canvas as well as large-scale acrylic murals. Alison is an ocean swimmer with an unfortunate phobia of large waves and octopuses, who also competes with NSW Masters Swimming, where her favourite event is the 200m butterfly. She has exhibited in multiple art prizes and her work has been collected by Artbank.

Image: Alison Locke, Flow (detail), 2024, computer generated image

This Creative Hoarding is a Culture Bites project by Willoughby City Council.

 

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