Believing there to be a link between an under-explored aspect of Caribbean adolescent masculinity and the freedom of bodies in the ocean, I set out to document boys’ interaction with the sea. Created over the last decade, the photographs that make up my work, Circa No Future, capture manhood, snippets of vulnerability and moments of abstraction that often go unrecognised in the day-to-day. The ocean itself takes on a personality - the embracing mother providing a safe space for being - which is both archetypal and poignant. The boys climb a large rock, proving their manhood through endurance. They fearlessly jump and become submerged in a moment of innocent unawareness. They emerge having proven themselves. The relationship between the boys and I is also explored within this paradigm. They are aware of me while posturing, but lose self-awareness when they sink into the water.
Words and photographs by Nadia Huggins
