Born 1982 in Nairobi, Kenya.
Lives and works in London, UK.
Phoebe Boswell’s new video installation, dwelling, posits water as site for both remembrance and futurity. Historical legacies of trauma – forced migrations, segregation, racial misconceptions, and the ongoing effects of global capitalism – continue to resonate within the Afro-diasporic conscience, shaping personal and collective fears associated with water. According to the Black Swimming Association, 95% of Black adults in the UK do not swim. And yet, bodies of water offer the porous, critical space between here and there to dismantle notions of citizenship and imagine future worlds. In this meditative work, the artist invited intimate pairs – parents with their children, siblings, lovers, friends – to help each other feel safe in the water. These episodes play across four projection screens at varying speeds and loops, accompanied by an independently looping sonic collaboration with musician Gregg August, and housed in a reflective black cube. In this long-term project, Phoebe Boswell captures the fragile moments of tension, fear, vulnerability, courage and confidence inherent in learning to swim. In this long-term project, Phoebe Boswell captures the fragile moments of tension, fear, vulnerability, courage and confidence inherent in learning to swim.
Also on view at URDLA and in The many lives and deaths of Louise Brunet at macLYON.
Commission for the 16th edition of the Biennale de Lyon
Courtesy of the artist
With the support of Fluxus Art Projects
Participants: Barby and Deborah Asante, Buitumelo Mushekwa, Reuben Arthur, Kiri Grant, Aliyah Forde, Mary Martins, Joshua Martins- Johns, Khadija Cecile Niang, Theophilus O. Bailey, Tsedaye Makonnen, Adéyemi Michael, Iyanu-Tsehai, Axel Kacoutié, Ezad Ebtehaj Kacoutié, Nephertiti Oboshie Schandorf, Dorothy Oboshie, Othello De’Souza-Hartley, Martin Kharumwa, Safiya Robinson, Maryam Shofowora, Yessane and Ylann Rimbon
Original composition and solo performance for double bass: Gregg August
Sound edit: Tyler McDiarmid
Colour: Brendan Buckingham
Post-production consultant: Reece Ewing
Backstage: Kat Liapis, Bokani
Filmed on location at Under The Water Media, London