The Fall of Gabriel

“The Fall of Gabriel” is an underwater evocative photography series, which unravels the intricate dance between falling and rising, capturing the raw essence of each emotional phase.

At the center of this collection of images, an individual deals with the complexities of descent, both a literal immersion and a metaphorical introspection. 

The cavernous setting creates a surreal ambiance, a metaphorical representation of the depths within the human soul. Bathed in the glow of a solitary column of natural light,  Gabriel finds himself suspended in a transient state, delicately poised between a fall into the abyss and the promise of rising to new heights.

The submerged realm symbolized the vastness of our inner world, and the solitary light source represents hope and resilience, reminding us that even in our darkest moments, a glimmer of light awaits us.

It is my hope that this artwork serves as a mirror for viewers to confront their own emotional journeys, recognizing that the falls we encounter can ultimately propel us to rise with newfound strength and wisdom.

This series presented several challenges. First of all, the model’s athletic skills and comfort level in the water needed to be highly advanced. He had to be able to freedive down to 10 meters without a mask while simulating both falling and rising within the light column.

I chose to collaborate with Gabriel Forestieri, an underwater dancer and freediving instructor, as he possessed the exact skill set I was looking for.

The depth of these shots posed physical challenges for me as well, in addition to the technical ones. Although I’m trained to freedive down to 30 meters, my camera setup is quite bulky, including two strobes and two underwater lights. This created significant drag while swimming and limited my ability to use my arms, requiring me to rely solely on my legs for propulsion.

The biggest technical challenge was the extremely low-light conditions. The cenote was a closed cave with only a few holes in the ceiling where light filtered through. Since water absorbs light more than air, descending to a depth of 10 meters made it incredibly dark. I overcame this challenge with the help of an assistant, who shone powerful underwater lights toward Gabriel—just enough for my camera to focus without compromising the image quality.

Art Exibition

The series is not available to the public yet, but one image has been selected by the renowned 33 Contemporary Gallery of Palm Beach, and will be available to purchase in person and online through the Artsy platform.

You are invited to visit the show that will be held in the Palm Beach Showroom, for more informations visit:

https://www.33contemporary.com/news/announcing-the-selected-artists-for-bodies-of-water-reflections-on-water-amp-life

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