Nature of Surf Women

Before starting this project, I had my  apprehension about the sea. This feeling came through a recurrent nightmare I  have had for many years, where an immense wave drowned me. When I arrived in this coastal area, I felt I was coming face to face with my fears, especiallyafter a long period of pandemic pause. 

I was looking for a new challenge, but the challenge came to me through  the conversion from a land photographer to a water photographer.

A connection in water is entirely different than the one on land. Like being pulled between two opposite poles. On one side, working to master the water element through surfing, and on the other side, being swept away and humbled by the sea. This duality has motivated many women of different ages and countries to findtheir place in Nosara, Costa Rica. They all have their own stories about what drove them to connect deeper with the ocean and how surfing has become a metaphor of their own struggles and acceptances as they move through life, such as childhood fears, monotone work routine, fear of illness, divorce and much more. It moves beyond the need for personal change to a rite of transformation with the support of a strong female, surfing community sharing the passion for a sport that requires considerable physical and mental strength.

In this photographic project I seek to analyze and evaluate the existence of a place like Nosara as a female sanctuary where ideas of freedom, liberation and sisterhood are shared and encouraged on land and in water.

This project is composed of thirty one micro-narratives from different countries such as South Africa, Denmark, Canada, the United States, Germany, Russia, France and Costa Rica all living in Nosara.

 

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