Facebook article – Royal West of England Academy
https://www.facebook.com/royalwestofenglandacademy
“18 June
Yesterday the RWA had a really exciting visitor, Ben Hooper, who is attempting to swim from Africa to Brazil; the great Atlantic Ocean.
Ben is the first person to endeavour swimming at such extreme lengths using freestyle swimming.
He has already swam around the Mediterranean and this time he wants to really push his limits and challenge his abilities to a more treacherous route.
Ben will swim up to a total of 12 hours per day. His epic swim will take him over 30-foot surges, passing through shark inhabited regions, and without doubt, he will encounter jelly fish, flying fish and a harsh Equatorial sun. The swim will be filmed by a Hollywood crew and edited into a video diary.
http://www.swimthebigblue.com/the-swim
Ben is interested in the artistic input in his project and visited the Power of the Sea for inspiration. He will be accompanied by artist Mel Cross http://mel-cross.co.uk/ who will be documenting the impact the swim will have on Ben, through her work. Mel’s work captures ‘essence’. “I don’t try to illustrate the physical nature of form – we can experience this via our senses. I try to capture the essential nature of form. The inter-dimensional resonance – the imprint the physical makes in the Universe.” “
24th JUNE 2014