Els Banyets. A Virginia Wolf

Paloma Navarés
Replay preview

Seeking to this position prevented in preview mode



In a gentle, almost stagnant sea, it is only possible to see a female body with her face in the water. She floats in a relaxed manner drawn until it sinks to the bottom disappear.

With minimal movements in an ocean of peace, austere and motionless, passivity makes a swimmer calmly float in the water. Reflecting in the liquid in an isolated action, waves and gleaming light are unconsciously drawn on the water's surface. The swimmer's arms project into the depths and occasionally resurface in a relaxed movement. The candescent and unchanging action of her body seems resigned. Rocking to and fro, drifting without changing position, she naturally becomes one with the liquid that surrounds her. She holds on without a stroke and allows herself to be brought before her own temperance. Surrendered to the water, examining its depths, she is accepted at the margins of the other side, by the coast where the daily is stored, where life continues. A leisurely vacation activity extracted from its external context. An introspective conscious that must erase any memory of the shore. Floating face down, as if she were dead, reveals both an absolute patience as well as complete abandon, until she sinks away.

The bather floats impassively in the calm water, she resists and, at the same time, is trapped, confined, by the ocean's cushioned firmness and the image's frame. This abandonment, produced by the withdrawal itself, evolves in black and white's atemporality and is emphasized by the aerial view the swimmer observed as if she were on a Petri dish.

The summer light is softly reflected, providing the bather a close unreality while she explores the fascinating underwater uncertainty. The rhythm slowed and natural and elegant composition that reinforces the potential of a complete image condensed into itself.

Technical datasheet

  • Title: Els Banyets. A Virginia Wolf
  • Direction: Paloma Navarés
  • Production: Paloma Navarés. 1987.
  • Duration: 00:01:35
  • Formats: Betacam Digital - DVD
  • TV systems: NTSC - PAL
  • License: Copyright