Women behind the lens: ‘Once naked, they formed a circle. The kicking and screaming occurred naturally’
Peruvian artist and teacher Ana Elisa Sotelo describes her ongoing photography series "Women of the Water," which began in 2022 in Puerto Natales, Chile, when three female swimmers asked her to photograph them naked in the frigid water. The series expanded through open calls to Argentina, the US, and Barbados. One image, "Women's Circle," was shot in March 2023 on playa Agua Dulce in Lima, Peru, following a string of femicide cases. Sotelo organized the shoot via Instagram and WhatsApp, with women swimming out to sea, removing their swimsuits, and forming a naked circle in the water while she flew a drone from shore. The performance, themed "Alive and Fearless" with a vest made by artist Ana De Orbegoso, was intended as an act of sisterhood and solidarity against gender-based violence.