Bill Viola: The Reflecting Pool

The work of Bill Viola, one of the most influential American video artists living today, is testament to the inspiration he draws from Chinese Taoism, Buddhism and Greek philosophers, borne out through his fascination with the transience of all human existence and the very nature of consciousness itself.

Viola's seminal piece, The Reflecting Pool, was made three decades ago on analogue video tape and yet could easily pass for a contemporary digital piece; in it, Viola emerges as central protagonist from a thick forest into a clearing filled by an artificial pool. As the noise of an aeroplane slowly passes and fades overhead, Viola approaches the edge of the pool, whereby he removes his shoes, squats down yelling and then prepares to make a powerful jump.

However, once leaping up above the pool, his body freezes, foetal-like, in mid-air above the surface of the water. Despite this, the water continues to ripple beneath. Drops of water fall from the frozen figure, whose silhouette gradually dissolves into the colours of the forest behind him.

According to Viola, it is not ultimately possible for the human being to differentiate between reality and illusion; rather, our true identity is only perceivable when it is reflected in the world. And thus, The Reflecting Pool, represents a baptism, a person's rebirth, as reflected by the water, whereby the frozen individual disappears from mid-air, renewing himself as a shadow in the pool, and then finally re-emerging and preparing to jump again; a leitmotif of the cycle of flux and change in our daily lives.

For more information on purchasing the DVD, Bill Viola: Selected Works, visit the StillnessSpeaks online store.

For more information about the work of Bill Viola, visit billviola.com.