Mare :: Behance

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Mare #19

New images taken in the last couples of winters for my endless serie "Mare".

Mare is an on going project that I started in 2006.

Power, Harmony, Elegance and a Huge Sense of space and Freedom which manage to fit together in total harmony in the same element, the Sea.

The ocean seem to be larger than anything else, both empty and full at the same time, similar but never the same, in perpetual movement, always a source of inspiration, a multitude of contradictions to our eyes but which, nonetheless, manage to fit together in total harmony.

Its waves, as described by Jack London, are “the knights of the infinite sea army” bearing simplicity, elegance, power and freedom

“Mare” is an ongoing project, which I started in 2006. To some extent, I think of the ocean as both an example to learn by and a source of knowledge and inspiration.

It all started from my love of surfing which I initiated in 1986. Ever since that moment, most of the decisions I have made in my life have always been centered around surfing, such as, in 1993, going to Australia, the with the intention of becoming a professional photographer.

From November to April, with January and February being the best months, I seek out extremely stormy

situations with strong wind and dark skies. I need places where I can get close to the waves,

and I always end up getting soaked. The best location I have found is unquestionably Nazarè in Portugal because it has some of the highest waves in the world.

In the last couple of years, I shifted my attention from a geometric approach to a more chaotic one.

Recently I have been interested more in showing action and power than empty spaces crossed by elegant lines as at the very beginning of this long serie.

The Romantic School of painting has had a tremendous influence on me, especially the artist JMW Turner.

Thanks above all to the vortex of emotions in Turner’s partially-unfinished late works, I drew new inspiration.

Today, my experimentation continues in this direction: remove information and hopefully, add emotion.