seanaut

“Could we have a complete picture of depth without first meditating at the edge of deep water?” – Gaston Bachelard (Water and Dreams)

I like to be alone in silence with the sea. Or accompanied, but in silence. Even when I am accompanied, I seek a moment of solitude with the sea. I walk away. I feel that my emotions settle in the sea, or in its presence. They calm down, they find themselves with all that immensity and density, that voracity. There is space for them. I give them space in front of the sea horizon. On the rocks, I inhabit that edge from which I was always kept away out of fear. On any rock, by any sea, I find that place I always like to return to, where suspended memories revive.

I remember dropping the scoop net, mediomundo into the sea – an object that fascinated me. It had to fall straight, evenly, without getting tangled up. I would drop it in, then get distracted. I found it fascinating to see the water coming out of the holes in mediomundo and to know that somehow I was connecting with what was happening down there, with what cannot be seen. A part of the sea was mine for a few seconds.

Before entering the sea, I always take my time. I observe it for a good few hours. I spend time on the shore, watching its waves, its currents, its eddies. Diving into the sea is for me a way to resurface, salir a flote. It lightens me, shakes me, restores my vitality, my wild spirit. I like to swim at night, jumping from the rocks into the depths and swimming back to shore. I always like to go right to the last rock, to the very edge, as far out as I can.

“salir a flote” is an expression in Spanish that means to recover from a crisis or difficult situation and move forward despite adversity. It often implies resilience and finding a way to rise above problems.

Carolina Arandia
Carolina Arandia is an interdisciplinary artist who is passionate about diving in the sea. In her work, she explores different ways of experiencing time, moving between micro and macro spheres of nature, life and other lesser-known forces.

Brought up in Buenos Aires, based in Prague, she works on her craft as a choreographer, dancer, and teacher. She graduated from the National University of Arts in Argentina, specialising in object theatre, interactivity, and new media. Her latest performance Aurora was co-produced by Terén platform at the CED Theatre in Brno.

She runs a mentoring space for performance artists called “Clinic” and works as a dramaturgical consultant with choreographers and directors of Prague’s independent scene.