In many films and cartoons set in the desert, sooner or later there is a scene in which tired and thirsty pilgrims begin to hallucinate. What do they see? Water, in any form: bottles, streams, waterfalls and even entire oceans.
The pool I’m about to tell you about is in the middle of the Mojave Desert in Southern California but its’ not the result of hallucination. This pool it’s real, anyone can swim in it under one condition: you have to find it.
The SWIMMING POOL HIDDEN in the DESERT: only those who find it can swim in it
# The hidden pool in the desert
In the middle of the Mojave desert, in Southern California, there is a swimming pool with a minimal design. What’s so minimal about it? First of all it is in the middle of nowhere.
Anyone can swim in it on one condition: you have to find it.
The only known information about the location is this: the pool is located several hours’ drive from Los Angeles, about 90 km from the Mak Center for Art Architecture in Los Angeles.
White, unadorned and geometric, it resembles a minimalist sculpture. With an extension of 3.5 by 1.5 meters, this pool is in fact an artistic installation.
#Social pool
This pool is the work of the Austrian artist Alfredo Barsuglia who in 2014 decided to create something unique.
Barsuglia called this project Social Pool, a pool for the people, social, which must be deserved before being able to use it.
The installation is described as the symbol of thoughtless well-being, of relaxation in nature, but above all as a metaphor for the contradictions of postmodern society and what could be more contradictory than a swimming pool in a desert?
# How to find the pool
To find the Social pool you have to go exclusively to the Mak Center for Art Architecture in Los Angeles.
At the Mak Center they will give you the keys and approximate coordinates of the pool and the next step will be wandering the desert to find it.
The keys must be returned after 24 hours and those who go to the pool should bring a gallon of fresh water to allow for replacement in the Social Pool, which can only be used by four people at a time.
During the tour it is forbidden to ask the museum for further information or to book a visit in advance.
Once the keys and their coordinates have been received, the little information received must remain secret.
# The treasure hunt
The pool closed in September 2014 but was so much appreciated that it was managed independently by anyone interested for two years.
There are rumors that an official reopening is being considered.
This treasure hunt was very popular with visitors: there are no signs or fences, will it be a hallucination?
ARIANNA BOTTINI
