“Between gold and survival skills”
acrylic on collage of recycled materials on unmounted canvas panel
72”x36”
Currently NFS
Simone Manuel is standing victorious on the side of an Olympic swimming pool. She’s wearing a gold medal, and her swim cap bears the American flag. Next to her, a little girl wearing arm floaties and a large gold crown on her bathing suit, resolutely points her index finger at the gold medal. She has found a role model and is motivated to learn how to swim.
Because of years of racism and segregation, in 2021 a staggering 64% of African American kids cannot swim at all, while for Caucasian kids, the figure is still alarming at 40%. Every day, there are nearly 10 accidental drownings in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That’s 3,500 people every year who die in water.
Worldwide, drowning claims an estimated 236,000 lives each year, and is the third leading cause of unintentional injury death. Children under the age of five are most at risk of drowning deaths, which account for more than 90% of drowning fatalities worldwide. According to estimates, Africa has the greatest rate of drowning fatalities worldwide.
Simone Manuel is one of the few African American competitive swimmers on an American team; this painting presents her as an example for younger generations.
The bathing suits are bringing forward a positive narrative to associate with people of color. Basquiat, for example, used the crown in many of his works to portray his ambition to become great. The artist Alma Thomas stated, “Through color, have sought to concentrate on beauty and happiness, rather than on man’s inhumanity to man.” By changing the vision, artists and athletes alike are working on changing the outcome.
Inequalities between swimmers can also be noticed in the Olympic sphere. The 400-meter freestyle was the longest race that women could swim until the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, whereas men were already swimming the 1,500 at the 1904 Olympics. Women were viewed as "second-class" athletes who couldn't manage longer distances. Today, women's Olympic equality slowly advance, the women's 1,500 was included at the Tokyo games of 2020..
Bathing suits: Alma Thomas, The Eclipse, 1970 (details)
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Pez Dispenser, 1984 (details)