Blue Nylon by Bena Jackson and Max Fleury

A ring of scum has formed around the edge, a green and brown film on the glossy tiles—nevertheless, blue light ripples over a drowned parking ticket and through my eyes. A muscular arm breaches the surface, grasping towards a frosty cold glass. Refreshment.

Blue nylon stems from a study of the iconic Parnell Baths and the elegant swimmers that adorn their walls in James Turkington’s untitled 1958 mosaic—and extends on Max Fleury and Bena Jackson’s interests the ways that communities craft, use, care for, and maintain public spaces.

Casting a wide net, the duo has woven together a range of pool-related references, to consider fresh water in relation to leisure, decor, and urban infrastructure in today’s cities. From the historic role of fountains in the earliest cities, to the bright eyes of Burt Lancaster in the 1968 film The Swimmer, and the infamous leaking pipes and splashing fountains in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, these urban waters form the basis of Max and Bena’s mosaic and moving image works.

Max Fleury and Bena Jackson live and work in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, and grew up in Ōtautahi Christchurch. Their previous collaborations include Same thing every day, Window, 2020; and Those who go quickly, commissioned by Circuit, 2020.