"Pool Party (The Drowning)" was a large-scale, site-specific installation conceived for the pool in the inner courtyard of Parque Lage as part of the exhibition "Mãos Negativas". Parque Lage is an art school and cultural institution in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It occupies a mansion that was formerly a sugarcane mill during colonial times, owned by a wealthy family of slaveholders. The installation features a large white flag with the stars of the Southern Cross (Crux) constellation embroidered in black. The flag is placed deep within the pool. The Southern Cross is visible only in the night sky from the Southern Hemisphere. Air balloons are positioned beneath the embroidered stars. Although invisible to viewers, they lift the stars from the pool floor, visually implying that they are struggling to reach the surface for air from beneath.
