North Shore Aquatics Club, 1989
Archival pigment print
24 × 20 in
June 10, 2024
Synchronized swimming had its Olympic debut as a team event in 1984, and as a result the sport saw increased recognition and enthusiasm in the following years. Neal Slavin made this photograph of the North Shore Aquatics Club at a time when groups like this one were seeing a dramatic growth in membership, after the 1988 Summer Games. The sport is now officially known as artistic swimming and will make its return to the games next month in Paris.
Neal Slavin began photographing group portraits of organizations of people in the early 1970s, and it became a career long passion. Synchronized swimmers are no doubt among one of the most elegant examples of how a spirit of collectivism in a group can achieve dazzling things.
