This is a deeply personal series. In 2017, in Malta, I began painting large close ups of frontal waves to overcome my deep water anxiety. I would go out to the shore in storms, make sketches, watch and photograph the giant waves which threatened to overwhelm but deeply fascinated me. Painting them back in the studio, I would feel the fear grow inside of me at first. With every line and hand movement though, with each new wave I painted, I felt my fear slowly dissipate until one day I could actually swim in the open sea again, knowing the waters under my feet were at least five meters deep, and, more over, enjoy it! I started documenting this transformation through this series of works. Since my family and I moved to the French Mediterranean coast in 2023, I have been swimming all year round, almost daily. These days, I must feel the sea, taste it, breathe it in, carry it within me to feel well and be able to work in the studio, no matter if I actually work on a sea-related project or not.

Having relocated a lot both in my childhood and as an adult, I cannot identify with any particular mentality, nationality or place. It feels unsettling at times because a sense of belonging is a human need. In the sea, I have found a place where I regain that sense of belonging to something bigger than myself. Constantly moving and never the same, it has always been here and it is very comforting. It has no borders. Floating in the sea gave me roots!

Immersed in the sea waters, I feel like part of the universe: being nothing and everything. The overwhelming noise of the human world, anxious thoughts and physical pain are no longer there when I swim. It is liberating and healing. 

Please click on the cover image to view all the artworks in this category. To see the information about each work and their full size, please then click on the individual images (thumbnails).