Mar Aberto

Over the last three decades, Nicolas Floc'h (b. 1970) has built an artistic career of great thematic and aesthetic coherence, and has achieved significant institutional and critical recognition. His work mobilises the potential of underwater photography to discover new artistic imaginaries. His photographs reveal a poetic dimension of enormous technical and aesthetic proficiency, establishing a sensitive perception of nature, biodiversity, and ecological phenomena.

At the invitation of MAAT, the artist did a ten-day residency in the Tagus Estuary, between Bugio and Castanheira do Ribatejo , in the summer of 2022. During this period, Floc'h had the opportunity to explore various underwater landscapes and ecosystems, expressing an artistic attitude that conveys pressing issues related to the defence of the environment and the sustainability of the planet.

The project will continue in the Azores archipelago, in the area of underwater hydrothermal vents, in collaboration with the University of the Azores and during a residency at the Arquipélago art centre on the island of São Miguel.