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ARTIST'S STATEMENT
I've always been curious about what goes on in situations that are hidden or out of normal view,
and through snorkeling, I discovered an underwater arena to explore. I loved the beach, but the
ocean scared me - until I put on a mask, snorkel, and fins. Not only could I now breathe
underwater, I could see! And along with a camera that could also see underwater I was in heaven,
able to explore a whole new world previously unknown to me.
Fish/Belly is part of a larger body of work titled Sea Samba. I started the project over 15 years
ago in Hawaii, where this photo was created. The underwater images show people at play in another
species´ domain. There's a certain magic, mystery, and power in the experience of being in the
ocean and underwater, and having a peek into the lives of another species. When I saw the
snorkeling tourists I was immediately struck by the comparative awkwardness of the humans vs. the
effortless movement of the sea creatures, as well as the humor in it.
In this eternal underwater ballet, humans offer a sense of comic relief while they are often
completely unaware of the peacefulness, beauty and fun in the scene around them. No matter how hard
we try, it seems that in the water people are still like fish out of water.
In reference to Sea Samba, the French photographer Frank Horvat commented, "It is like street
photography underwater".
BIOGRAPHY
Barbara Alper is a full-time freelance and fine art photographer with multi-faceted documentary,
conceptual, and narrative portfolios. She has published photos in many distinguished journals,
magazines and newspapers, such as Barron's, Newsweek and Time, including
a lengthy association as a news and feature photographer with The New York Times. Her
commercial clients include Condé Nast and the New York Botanical Garden, among others.
Alper's artistic projects include the series "Rockaway Beach", "Sea Samba", and "The Gulf Channel".
Her photographs have been exhibited in and included in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn
Museum, New York; International Center of Photography, New York; FNAC, Paris; Maison
Européenne de la Photographie, Paris; the Polaroid Collection, and the Victoria and Albert
Museum, London. Publications include "Rockaway Beach", Photojournal Asahi Camera Japan; "Picturing
the Modern Amazon", edited by J. Stein et al, Rizzoli; "Cats, Dogs 24-7", Chronicle Books; and
"10,000 Eyes", Kodak/Thomasson-Grant. Based in Manhattan, Alper is represented by Tepper Takayama
Fine Arts, Boston, Envision-Stock, and Mega-Press, Tokyo. She holds a B.A. in Social Work from
Michigan State University, and studied with renowned photographers Harold Feinstein and Lisette
Model and at the MIT Creative Photo Lab.
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