Re(cognition: Joan M. Khabele
Re(cognition: Joan M. Khabele) is a celebration of Black joy, leisure, and feeling at home in the water. Hand-drawn portraits float through bright, fluid animations that sweep across the building and reflect over the surface of the lake. The piece honors Joan M. Khabele, whose brave 1960s "swim-ins" at Barton Springs Pool helped desegregate Austin's most famous swimming spot. Her actions turned local waterways into places of fun and belonging for everyone, and this artwork is an open invitation to celebrate her legacy.
Projected onto the historic Seaholm Intake Facility along Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin, the artwork was part of WaterWork, a 2-day public art event co-created by The Trail Conservancy and Design Austin that transforms the Seaholm pump house into a night-time shore-side gathering place for the community.
Materials: HD video with custom generative animation and hand-drawn portraiture
Duration: 2:00-minutes
Dimensions: 6316 × 2160 pixels
Collaborator: Jerome Martinez
Commissioned by: Design Austin 2026
To create the visuals, we combined traditional pencil drawings with code-based animations. I was inspired by the vibrant, geometric patterns in Zak Ové’s Black Starliner and the peaceful floating figures in Calida Rawles’ paintings.
By mixing tactile, handmade drawings with bold, geometric animation that reflect off the water, I wanted to create a glittering effect that feels peaceful and alive.
new materials [are] vital for contemporary stories, conversations, and references to keep old world mythologies alive.
They have to keep up with the spaces we are in today. I was fascinated by how we move to the future with our ancestors, not without them.
Zak Ové, from interview in CreativeBlood.com
