The Swimming Pool by Leandro Erlich in 21st Century Museum Kanazawa
Japan Japan in Haiku Travel

Japan in Haiku 4: The Swimming Pool

The Swimming Pool

Blue ripples on sun
distort what I once thought
as I swim through air.

In Kanazawa we are inspired to swim but the pool is full of contradictions. You can get in but can’t climb out. You cannot penetrate the surface but can breathe underwater. From the surface this swimming pool looks like any other. But it is not a pool, it is art.

The Swimming Pool is an installation by artist Leandro Erlich at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa. What looks like a pool is but a clever thin skin of water through which you can peer down into an ‘under water’ chamber accessed elsewhere.

Inside the chamber the sky ripples above like water. We take a deep breath and look up to a distorted sun and Japanese faces looking down at us. A distorted reality that already feels strangely familiar.

About the author

Kirstie Pelling

Kirstie is the creative force and chief poet in residence of poetinmotion.org She is available for residencies, as a conference poet and wedding poet. She is also co-founder of The Family Adventure Project and a regular contributor to many online travel communities.

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About Author

Kirstie Pelling

Kirstie is the creative force and chief poet in residence of poetinmotion.org She is available for residencies, as a conference poet and wedding poet. She is also co-founder of The Family Adventure Project and a regular contributor to many online travel communities.

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