Pools started from gathering and selecting 3d models of swimming pools online, mostly on the Google Warehouse and others free CAD libraries. Once a selection was established, I altered each individual 3D model to only keep the essential shape of the pool. Each 3D model was ‘painted’ with a flat grey color, and then animated through an irregular rotation. I selected this particular motion with a specific lighting in order to gradually reveal some faces of the models as they are animating, it was also a way to disrupt the material appearance of each shape.

Pools is related to a previous series called Mansion studies, where I have applied a similar process to 3D models of luxurious homes. For both series, I altered the 3D models to make them operate as animations but also as templates for sculptures. The 3D models of Pools have been reduced to become simple solid blocks with an indefinite scale. The basic features of each model (steps, slopes, general shape) become the focus of attention; each model is reduced to its primary sculptural attributes.

Each animation in Pools is used as a template for the making of a mold. This mold is intended for casting concrete shapes as replicas of each model. The result of this process will be the production of an unlimited series of objects. Each object will have dimensions similar to a sink or a bird’s bath, and will have no specific use intended other than its existence and its appreciation as a solid figure.

–Nicolas Sassoon