Backstroke (from the VIA ŪLTIMA NATĀBULUM series)

Author: Lištica

Year of foundation: 2020

Brno University of Technology
Faculty of Fine Arts
Painting Studio 3
Degree: Bachelor
Year of studies: 2
Artwork supervisor: Petr Kvíčala

Right from the preparatory drawing, the main idea of the emerging painting was clear: to capture two inert backstroke swimmers floating on similarly inert water. At the same time, I wanted to confuse the viewer as to whether they were looking at backstroke swimmers or at dead women who had emerged to the surface. In the end, a kind of an inner need prevailed over the initial idea to show both bodies, which eventually stopped being floated by the water and started to float above it. The painting is part of a larger series of paintings with the motif of swimmers. The paintings with this theme were first created in the spring of 2020. For me, the theme is closely related to the feelings of restriction of movement and freedom at that time. Events related to the Covid-19 pandemic became the impetus for painting but the motifs that appear in the paintings are based on my own experiences from my time as a competitive swimmer. Acrylic on canvas, 110x140 cm.