Mária Švarbová’s calm and surreal images of bathers at a Slovakian swimming pool

“My photographs are a succession of short scenes in which the frontality and absence of contrasts remove any narrative dimension,” says Slovakian photographer Mária Švarbová of her two new photo essays Swimm and Swimming Pool. Each tightly framed and directed shot depicts bathers at a swimming pool in Malacky, near Bratislava. The pastel hues with pops of saturated colour, combined with a theatrical direction of the models, create a thoughtful and compelling sequence of scenes.

Each image is focused on the models with rigid poses and the tiling of the municipal baths, complimented by Mária’s careful consideration of the perspective and layering in each shot, creating a faintly surreal series of images which are hard to date. Across Maria’s portfolio, her style of shooting people as mannequins is a repeated theme. The last time we featured Mária’s work was back in 2014, this new work shows a boldness with colour and light but retains the art nouveau styling of her portfolio as a whole.