We Farewell 2019 with Soo Burnell’s ‘Poolside’ Series

Marshall Street Baths.

Water Polo at Marshall Street.

Glenogle Baths.

Girl with the yellow hat.

Drumsheugh Baths.

For our last article of 2019, we’re signing off with the Aussie summer appropriate series ‘Poolside’ by Scottish photographer Soo Burnell. Focusing on her passion for architecture, Burnell began by capturing Edinburgh’s historic swimming pools, bringing the striking geometry, dramatic proportions and whimsical colour palette of each space to the fore. From there, Burnell continued the series with pools in Glasgow, London, Manchester and Paris. Human figures dressed in retro swimming attire add scale to the architecture within each careful composition.

“I wanted to photograph Edinburgh’s swimming baths to show the beauty of the architecture while minimising all of the modern elements. I love the geometry of the tiles, the lines on the bottom of the pool, and the typography including the ‘Deep End’ signs,” says Burnell.

The serene series sticks to a muted colour palette, with pale aqua water being the common thread between each faded pool interior. Many images are perfectly symmetrical in a Wes Anderson-inspired way of highlighting the architecture of each space. The historic pools feature elements such as pitched roofs, beams, detailed plasterwork and masonry, and balcony seating.

Victoria Baths Manchester.

4 Feet Deep.

6 Feet.

Poolside Leith Victoria.

After Swimming.

“I have been really inspired by the idea of having a slightly quirky Wes Anderson feel to them, especially with the pastel colour palette, and with the swimmers adding both a human element to each scene along with a dreamlike quality,” Burnell reflects.

The featured swimmers wear elegant costumes and swimming caps in tones that complement their poolside surrounds. Statue-like poses make them appear more like props while maintaining the calm stillness of each image. Amongst the historic architecture, the resulting effect feels a little frozen in time.

Limited edition framed linen prints from ‘Poolside’ are available to purchase from Burnell’s website. Each order is custom made, with different framing options available.

On that note, we hope you have a fantastic summer break (sorry northern hemisphere folk!). Yellowtrace will kick off our annual end-of-year archives from next week through to mid-Jan 2020. We look forward to welcoming you back in the New Year, refreshed and ready to kick butt together.

Love always,
Team Yellowtrace xx