Interesting Photo of the Day: Ocean Wave Sculpture

Interesting Photos

Ocean waves are more than the natural phenomenon of wind and tides. They are a vessel of powerful kinetic energy and a liquefied prism—a true source of inspiration for French photographer Pierre Carreau. The suspended motion creates a sculptural quality allowing the viewer to appreciate every curve and every ripple of a rolling wave:

An image from the AquaViva series by Pierre Carreau. (Via Imgur. Click to see full size.)

Growing up in a family of talented artists, Carreau eventually left a career in IT to explore his own artistic yearnings. Photographing many water sports and a new home in St. Barthélemy led to Carreau’s profound fascination and appreciation for water and waves. In an artist statement, he says:

“Water is amazing. Basically it has no color, but through reflection and refraction it can possess all of them, the entire spectrum of light…Consider that nature presents to us this vibrant energy daily wherever the ocean meets the shore. We are incapable of capturing these fleeting masterpieces with our own eyes, however, for the movement is too swift, and the tumultuous action of the waves too distracting in its kinetic form.”

Carreau’s images of these liquid sculptures have been collected into a series titled ‘AquaViva.’  Like their human viewers, no two waves are alike; the photographs speak to something inside of every individual. The images are also a visual representation of the rugged beauty and diverse appeal of water.

“This simultaneous depiction of roiling movement and suspended kinetic energy parallels the dual nature of the oceans and of water itself: life-giving and yet dangerous, inviting and yet fearsome, primordial and yet ever-changing and always renewed.”