Portraits of Bodysurfers Flowing with Ocean Waves

Here’s a 5-minute short film by filmmaker Robert Sherwood about the work of Australian photographer Trent Mitchell and his latest project Inner Atlas, a series of portraits of bodysurfers flowing with ocean waves.

“This portrait series celebrates the human spirit through movements of the sea in an unfamiliar and forgotten space,” Mitchell writes in his artist statement. “I felt intrigued to investigate the interconnection of humans with nature through the most pure form of wave riding, the primitive art of bodysurfing.”

“How does it feel flowing at the perfect speed, immersed within the fluidity of the of the sea?” Mitchell writes. “What is revealed when one’s spirit expands into the space that surrounds?”

“My aim to render the true essence of the human condition and a mirror of one’s self could only be captured within the moment and in a single breath,” writes Mitchell. “In a space that moved the subject and the viewer with equal pull.”

You can find more of Mitchell’s work on his website and Instagram.