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.
This article matters because it highlights how contemporary art can serve as a direct response to social crises, specifically gender-based violence and femicide in Latin America. Sotelo's project transforms a personal artistic practice into a collective, participatory act of resistance and healing, raising questions about whether fear or solidarity will prevail in an increasingly harsh world. The work also underscores the role of social media and grassroots organizing in creating ephemeral, site-specific art that engages communities beyond traditional gallery spaces.