Circa no future
exploring the vulnerable masculine underwater
Believing there to be a link between an under-explored aspect of Caribbean adolescent masculinity and the freedom of bodies in the ocean, photographer Nadia Huggins decided to creatively document boys' interaction with the sea. These pieces capture manhood, snippets of vulnerability and moments of abstraction, that often go unrecognized in the day-to-day. The ocean itself takes on a personality - that of the embracing mother providing a safe space for being - which is both archetypal and poignant. She is as much a subject as the boys for whom she provides solace. The boys climb a large rock, proving their manhood through endurance, fearlessly jump, and become submerged in a moment of innocent unawareness. They emerge having proven themselves. The relationship between the photographer and the subject is also explored within this paradigm. The subjects are aware of the photographer while posturing, but lose this cognizance when they sink into the water. It is this moment that tells the true story.
