The Swimming Pool

Swimming Pool by Leandro Erlich.

Look pretty cool, huh? This "swimming pool" (optical illusion) can be found at the P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center in New York.

Erlich has constructed a full-size pool, complete with all its trappings, including a deck and a ladder. When approached from the first floor, visitors are confronted with a surreal scene: people, fully clothed, can be seen standing, walking, and breathing beneath the surface of the water.

It is only when visitors enter the Duplex gallery from the basement that they recognize that the pool is empty, its construction a visual trick fashioned by the artist.

A large, continuous piece of acrylic spans the pool and suspends water above it, creating the illusion of a standard swimming pool that is both disorienting and humorous.

Check it out some more here.