Gabriella Angotti-Jones / I Just Wanna Surf

To this day, black women and non-binary surfers have rarely been in the spotlight in the sport of surfing... This photographer changes that.
 
A collection of works by American-based photographer Gabriella Angotti-Jones. A small beach town in Orange County, California. Angotti-Jones grew up in one of the few mixed-race families in the area. It explores how her childhood experiences with the ocean and California surf culture intertwined with her identity as a black woman.
 
“Yesterday, for the first time since I was in elementary school, I found a golden ring in my hair. I remember looking at those golden hoops and thinking, wow, my hair is such a beautiful color. Masu. "
 
In late 2018, when he began photographing for this book, he spotlighted a group of people who have rarely been featured in surfing books. Instead of the pictures of white men cutting back on 8-9 foot waves, which have been promoted and imaged in advertisements, we want black women and non-binary surfers to enjoy surfing and interacting with each other. I record simply. A young surfer wearing a wetsuit and applying sunscreen, a woman resting with her face down on a surfboard floating in the sea, and a girl screaming in the sea. The appearance of surfing in style challenges the conventional image of surfing. This book is a combination of a photobook, a zine, and a diary. The joy of "friendship" found in the author's own community, the emotional sanctuaries he finds in the wilderness of the sea, and the underlying racial tensions at the core of the black experience are layered together.
In her texts, with sensitivity and vulnerability, she recounts her experience of depression and explores the inner peace that riding the waves brings.
Acknowledging how important a community of surfers has been to "finding self-worth and coping with depression," she describes them as "the backbone of her surfing life." Surfing is an individual sport, basically one man and one woman riding a wave. However, in this book, it is drawn about "a sense of unity" rather than the act of surfing. (In the author's words, "...about connecting with people in need, people coming together, and the community that surrounds them.")
Enjoy the excitement of riding a good wave regardless of your body type, skin color, or gender. That's what the ancient Hawaiians wanted for the origins of today's surfing, and what they had in common to get one step closer to Mother Nature.
A fun, realistic, complex and unique collection of works that explore the visual history of the Black American experience and its place in the rapidly changing American surf community.
Publisher: Mass Books
Publication year: 2022
Number of pages pages: 144
Size size: 235x190mm
Format format: softcover
Language language：English/English
attachment:
State condition: New
*2022 Paris Photo First Book Award nominated work