Afternoon Bather

Early works by Joanna Braithwaite centred on the forms of birds, fish, and other animals, expressing concern for their slaughter and conversion into meat. Her 1989 series depicting the severed heads of bulls and sheep and cuts of meat aroused media attention and challenged viewers to overcome their natural distaste at the subject matter in order to appreciate the strength of the painting. In the 1990s, influenced by the work of American painter Eric Fischl, Braithwaite turned to more conventionally acceptable subject matter, creating paintings of people swimming, based on photographs.

Braithwaite’s figures do not exhibit a trouble-free sense of enjoyment in their environment. A woman floating on her back in one work looks more like a victim of rigor mortis than like someone simply relaxing. In other pieces, old people are shown in awkward positions as they negotiate ladders into swimming pools or bend to deal with small children. No more telling contrast with the cult of the beautiful promoted by the advertising industry could be imagined than these images of plain people in unfashionable costumes squinting behind their sunglasses into a sea that is usually murky green, rather than the deep blue of the travel poster.

The theatrical quality of the figure in Afternoon Bather is sharply observed. She is disdainfully disgruntled, as if casting disapproving looks at noisy children nearby. Her bathing cap is painted with great care, as though the artist wishes the viewer to miss none of its kitsch floral detailing. The lighting effects are glaringly bright, as registered on colour print film unable to capture mid-tones. Braithwaite’s virtuoso paint-handling is best seen in this large version, but the smaller Study for Afternoon Bather is also revealing.