Trent Parke and Narelle Autio were drawn to document Australian Beach life in early 1999, during one of the country’s worst summers for drownings. In a project that spanned two years, and beaches from Bondi in Sydney to Freshwater and Manly beaches, north to Newcastle’s Bogie Hole, to Port Macquarie and Byron Bay, the pair’s underwater shots built a portrait of an Australian past-time that captured something of the national identity, as well as something broader and universal about humanity’s relationship to wild nature.
“The ocean is a symbol for the ultimate universal energy — something which both gives and takes away life,” says Narelle Autio. “It can be tranquil and calm or violent and unpredictable. Despite the dangers and inevitable loss of life the sea continues to be an irresistible attraction to millions of people. We wanted to show this symbiosis between mankind and the ocean and our apparent ongoing need to return to water.
