NOTES ON WILD SWIMMING

The Anthropocene Epoch is an unofficial unit of geologic time that describes the most recent period in Earth’s history, where human activity has begun to have a significant impact on the planet’s climate and ecosystems.

Human impact on the environment, as a result of over consumption, even from a self-serving/selfish standpoint of rampant capitalism of which we are all part of, can no longer be justified given the devastating consequences that we see all around us. For example, the recent wildfires in Southern California.

Why do we as individuals consume more than what we need? 

Does our over consumption, in part, stem from the educational model that we have subscribed to since the Industrial Revolution? 

Writer Alwin Toffler describes the origins of the current education system in his 1970s book, Future Shock, ‘The American education model ( and around the world)…was actually copied from the 18th-century Prussian model designed to create docile subjects and factory workers.’  This style of education was set up to enable mass production - to create a disempowered workforce and unquestioning consumers. 

‘You know, when people who were once religious no longer believe in God, they never really change; they just go on, hunting for the ecstatic food, trying to satisfy that hunger’ Andrew Holleran.

Today in overcrowded classrooms, our children are taught by overworked and harried teachers about the environment, ecosystems, habitat and wildlife but are afforded little to no interaction or contact with the natural world. This gap between the information they receive and their lived experience, disconnected from nature, means that their learning about the impact of our lifestyles on the environment does not fully resonate with them. 

When swimming within a natural environment, throughout the seasons, I have become more aware of water quality, weather, erosion and human impact of the areas where I swim. If I swim in the sea, I also need to be aware of sewage outlets, tide times and  tidal currents. I have had to educate myself, acquire the knowledge needed to navigate the environment. It makes it impossible for me to ignore the way in which it continues to be negatively impacted by the effects of our neglect and lack of care and understanding.

This series of paintings is an attempt to capture the resonant beauty of being in nature: fully immersed in the water, part of the flora and fauna, and wildlife. It has become a way of re-integrating with nature and re-acquiring subtle knowledge of nature’s symbiotic relationship with us.