Water has always fascinated me, how it shapes our bodies, how we adapt. When I’m below the surface, propelling my body through turquoise blue, I think I want to stay there forever. Isn’t it magical how we can float and dive and become one with the ocean? How our innate connection to the sea overpowers any fears and apprehensions? The ocean feels more natural to me than most places on land; it calls to me like home, no matter where on Earth I am.
And one of my favourite things to do is to go swimming with my friends and photograph them in the water. I love the way the sun hits their skin, the reflections of the waves creating surreal shapes. It’s like another world, like our bodies are borne of the water, born for the sea. Because they are, aren’t they? Because women and water are life, and women in water are an oneiric fantasy brought to life.
Like breathing paintings, their bodies become the perfect subjects against the ethereal canvas of the ocean. I am lucky they have allowed me to capture these ephemeral moments, these dreamlike seascapes, these visions of beauty. Capturing the images for this collection has taken me into the depths of the ocean chasing sirens. And even a few sea turtles!
Laura Restrepo Ortega 