Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes Flow as “a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will continue to do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.”
Best known for his conflict photography throughout his 25-year career, Guillermo Cervera’s time photographing waves equally comprises his professional life. Between stints photographing in conflict zones, Cervera has always taken to the sea as a way of understanding and coping with the stress and trauma of photographing armed conflict. In 2011, he witnessed an attack that killed his colleagues, Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros, in Libya. The trauma of their deaths, having just followed his mother’s passing, further connected him to surfing. This is how the quest for the perfect wave offers him healing and spiritual cleansing.
