Phoebe Boswell's Underground Installation Explores Black British Swimming Statistics Through Aquatic Photography

Artist Phoebe Boswell has created an immersive installation for London Underground stations Bethnal Green and Notting Hill Gate, commissioned by Art on the Underground. The work addresses the statistic that 95% of Black British adults don't swim, examining generational trauma, lack of representation, and structural inequality. Boswell photographed Black subjects underwater responding to prompts, creating stop-motion imagery across 20-meter escalator spans. She describes water as holding histories of migration, violence, and healing while serving as a liminal space for contemplating liberation beyond land-based belonging. The artist worked with swimmers who brought personal interpretations, creating gestures that unknowingly echoed each other. Boswell positioned the project against the UK's tightening rules on freedom of movement for Black and brown people, aiming to create something affirming fluidity and freedom. The installation transforms mundane commutes with mystical aquatic imagery visible to moving audiences.