OLGA BOLTNEVA

Water is Earth’s most common substance. It accompanies every moment of our lives. It is in water that a seed comes alive, and so does a fetus. The amniotic fluid nourishes and protects it.
Human beings grow in water, which later on turns into a hazard. It requires one to learn from scratch how to live in it. To remember.
To me, water is rebirth. I needed to come back into the water to be born again. To discover and accept myself. To get rid of the complexes and the timidity that developed under the pressure of environment.
Water lets me feel myself and my body. Each movement brings certainty and serene power. Dipping into the water grants a stillness of thought, a silence. Then I notice the sound of my breath and the heartbeat.
I enjoy being in the water, but each time I enter it I overcome discomfort. It takes the body a split second to get used to. Swimming requires shrinking into oneself first. Force the knees up against the belly, take a push off the wall – only then you can straighten yourself back. This is the moment that brings rebirth. The tension reveals every muscle and all of the movements, and you can feel the water parting in your wake. You merge into it. The fear and the timidity are long gone.