Takei Nabeshima. Courtesy of @alternatepools.
“There is something about being enveloped in water, especially deep water, that is powerful and grounding for me,” muses J Lee McClusky, curator of @alternatepools, an Instagram account documenting an eclectic array of swimming pools from around the world. From natural waterfalls to bourgeois buildings with water-filled balconies, to the hyper-modern designs of Takei Nabeshima, @alternatepools is a font of aquatic inspiration.
Growing up in the outskirts of Austin in Hill Country, Texas, swimming was a part of everyday life for McClusky—a natural pastime that she often longed for after moving to Vermont for college in order to escape Texas’ oppressive politics. Describing herself as a “Mexican American, queer tejana”, she believes strongly in the healing nature of water and swimming as a “natural antidepressant.” McClusky started the account on a whim, while she was lying on a beach one day searching on Instagram for places to swim. After realising that not a single account existed that was dedicated to pools alone, she took it upon herself to create her own.
Scanned from library collections or reposted from her favourite accounts, McClusky’s turquoise-toned landscapes are escapist, encouraging viewers to immerse themselves in the serene quiet that they offer. Others document suspended waterways that have been incorporated into the natural landscapes, showcasing the artistry and innovation of ecologically focused design. Whether centuries old or strikingly modern, the multitude of pools feature a variety of undisturbed, still waters as well as endearing social settings populated with people.
According to McClusky, her day job as reproductive health nurse helps her to remain “politically, socially and spiritually present”—she regards her work as a “daily practice of political resistance.” Nonetheless, this doesn’t keep her from dreaming about alternate worlds punctuated by wondrous swimming pools. The aesthetic mapping of her account fuses pastel hues and kitsch heart-shaped pools with modernist minimalism and futuristic design, creating a space that depicts—as per @alternatepools’ bio— “a world where pools outnumber people.”