A Swim with Sol Auset
To enjoy these pictures even moreso, enjoy this vibe by Douglas Dare – Swim.
All the things in the world come second to new life – it’s our form of immortality, passing what we’ve learned through genetics and our ability to teach the next generation. For many Black folk, getting into the pool is seen as out of the norm – for many it also underlies the effects of a culture built on trauma that can be rooted in history.
It hits hard to home for me. In one instance, my baby brother almost drowned in the deep end of our community pool growing up – incentivizing my family to pay for swimming lessons for all of us, and then themselves. I really didn’t think too much of it until much later, when my peers and even some of my relatives noted not having the ability to swim sufficiently, even to survive in water.
History, that teacher, tells us a clearer story.
For many African Americans, segregation can be rooted as a primary factor why the majority of Blacks living here to this day do not know how to swim – up to 70%. These aren’t assumptions these are facts. Living in South Florida, it can be easy to forget that many Black folk don’t have ready access to swimmable water bodies. Down here, we have access to beaches, sure, but in places isolated from ready water – pools can often be the only viable options to develop the skill to swim. Add the fact that in the period of desegregation, and even later, these very same swimming pools may have only be accessible to wealthy white families or communities that could afford park locations – all contributing to the “culture” of swimming inaccessibility that we can see trickle down today.
What does this all have to do with this photoshoot with Auset (Gianna)? I wanted to do an underwater maternity photoshoot with a newly inaugurated Black Mother that was comfortable with the idea. Babies are often suspended in that primordial solution that we call the womb. We come literally from nothing. Yet, the actions of two beings can cause a chain effect of natural bodily processes that result in a human life. Born crying, but yet unafraid. I wanted to bring the mother and the unborn child back to this state. To take apart the misconceptions she may have had with water – especially in this vulnerable state. Safely of course.
My hope is that with these images, more Black pregnant Mothers will feel comfortable being in and out of the water – and in front of another photographer’s lens, capturing their raw beauty – even in this vulnerable state. We are glad to say that Gianna’s pregnancy has reached a happy ending and she is spending some much needed time with her newborn. Congrats and best wishes to them!
All the images captured will be available for download either here or on Pinterest.
Auset (Gianna) is a local creator and artist of an assortment of copper rings that harness and transmute the energies of the wearer – please check out her brand Sol Svn!