Catmasutra 2 - Before the Splash

"Before the Splash"(above) is a parody of "A Bigger Splash" by David Hockney (below), painted in the early summer of 1967. It depicts a swimming pool setting on a hot and cloudless day in Los Angeles. It’s a delightful interplay between strong horizontals and verticals against a diagonal diving board and the exuberance of spray, seemingly suspended in time (Maybe Hiro Nakamura was there…hahaha). There is no visible human presence here. The setting is crisp and clean, perfect and cold except for that instant of a splash…

“Before the Splash” in Catmasutra 2 is about going into reverse, and in this instance to the time “before the splash”! We realize in this alternate space, the diver is not another human being but a cat with a fish bone in its mouth. We have no idea why the cat jumps into the pool (one can only assume that it’s such a hot day that even a cat is tempted by the cool lullaby of the pool…wahahahah) ; Herein lies the process of “reversing pop art”, and the opportunity to engage one of the most iconic images of the mid-60’s. (Hockney’s earlier version “The Splash” fetched a whopping £2.6m at auction last year). To experience “Before the Splash”, you need to exert yourself, stop time and reverse it in order to pursue pure pleasure!