Mero II Photograph - Limited Edition of 5

“I must be a mermaid, Rango. I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living.” Anais Nin I’m in love with the deep blue of the Mediterranean sea and the clear, radiant light of the French Riviera. I love the sapphire blue expanse, the windswept azure skies, the blue flows, the blue depths, the blue mystery. The pure emotion of the colour blue: calming, silent, still, expansive. One must not look for a narrative in my work. My minimalistic, near-abstract images of the sea seek to immerse the viewer as much as possible into pure perceiving: a deep absorption into what is present to the senses without recourse to names and concepts. Done in conditions of isolation and near-complete solitude over the summer months on the coast between Cannes and Saint-Tropez (France), my work requires a state of sustained and deep contemplation of the beauty of nature. Although it is not recommended, I always dive alone, in order to achieve maximum absorption. It is also there that I'm happiest. Underwater, in the deep blue, body and mind undergo a transformation as gravity, time, spatial boundaries and directions vanish almost entirely. If one can let go most completely, this is an experience of exhilarating unity with nature, peace and freedom. From this experience there emerged, notably, Deep Blue Cosmos, a visual and poetical exploration of the striking similarities between outer space and the abyss: limitless and hostile wildernesses, light-studded spans of darkness where, free from the habitual limitations of gravity and bounded space, we can lose ourselves into sublime and inexhaustible wonder. Deep Blue Cosmos is a visual allegory of oneness. It is not merely a merging of above and below, of the cosmos and the abyss, but also of within and without. Steeped in the stillness of mind and the double focus within and without that characterise the activity of free diving, the mental division between self and nature comes to an end. For this division exists only in our thoughts. When it ceases, we become one with nature: our being enlarged, timeless and free from fear. Not only do we then begin to perceive its transcendental beauty, but we also find a way to inner peace and true wellbeing. I'm French, living both in France and in the UK.