Wipe out

Surfing is a practice that goes beyond slipping skillfully on wave crests. Those who dedicate themselves completely to this sport know that there is a ritual around surfing: studying the weather forecast, getting up early and observing the waves with eyes still half closed by sleep, mastering the high tide and low tide timing, maintaining the board with paraffin, putting on the neoprene suit, looking for the optimal spot, reading the waves, waiting patiently, waiting, waiting, waiting, starting to swim at the right moment just when the perfect wave begins to rise, etc. But this ritual space is much broader that we think, a whole daily routine that includes special food, long times where nothing happens, repetitive conversations about how the day has been given and options for the next day. This project called “Wipe out” (which in surfer's slang means falling off, or being knocked off, the surfboard when riding a wave), tries to show everything that happens outside the water and that is part of the surfer ritual from the point of view of a stranger who is not able to “take off” on the board.