The art of dancing in the pool
Eugene Tan, renowned surf and water photographer and founder of Aquabumps gallery, has collaborated with iconic fashion designer Dion Lee and the Australian Ballet in a creative first featuring an underwater fashion shoot in a blacked-out swimming pool.
Dancers draped in Dion’s bespoke designs were choreographed into weightless poses by Australian Ballet Artistic Director, David McAllister.
The pool was blacked out and lit from above to create a feeling of an abyss underwater, with photographer Eugene submerged for 4 hours during the shoot.
See a video of the collaborative effort:
New challenge
This was a new genre for Tan.
“I’m a beach guy. I shoot with natural light and waves. This project was a good challenge for me. This was a very technical shoot with complex lighting, and instead of surfers I had dancer’s. Deb pushed me creatively on this – and the outcome is pretty special,” he says.
Dion’s bespoke designs included a combination of swim and ready to wear.
“The designs were formed by the idea of dynamic movement through water using sculptural and dimensional perforation, with mindfulness of the body. I explored the idea of balance, contrast and fluidity, particularly as it appears in the aquatic, to create a graphic image” says Dion Lee.
The result is a narrative of images that celebrate creativity and beauty. A stunning collection of artistic photographs featuring dancers in gravity-defying moves -- silhouetted in fabrics that feature graphic patterns and unexpected shapes --- offset against a dramatic monochromatic background.
Dropbox collaboration
The project was managed via Dropbox Paper, a new type of document designed for creative work. It allowed the team to collaborate in real time - from their respective locations, across difference states and continents, using a diverse range of content from power point, pinterest and vimeo.
Dropbox Paper was an integral part of the creative process from planning through to execution.
“We needed a creative workspace to bring this idea to life. With the three lead creatives being in different geographies, this project could have been hard to manage, but Dropbox Paper made it possible for us to work together seamlessly and efficiently,” she business partner Debbie Tan.
“Dion is in New York, The Australian Ballet is in Melbourne and we are in Bondi, but with Dropbox Paper I could share the creative concept, test-shots and Dion’s designs with the global team at any hour of the day and get immediate sign off. Everything we needed from photos to budgets, was in one spot – it’s such amazing technology,” she says.
