Mare Internum is a photographic essay that explores coastal areas, aiming to study the construction of identity in relation to the sea. Conducted over several months, it examines the role of the sea in the daily lives of coastal residents, our relationship with a common maritime space through leisure activities, family or friendly activities, as well as the place it occupies in the imagination.
This unique chapter observes the dualities between the urban and the natural, chaos and calm, the warmth of bodies and the blue of the waves. Mare Internum translates directly to 'inner sea,' synonymous with the Mediterranean Sea. Growing up near the sea, much of my childhood was spent in a state of meditative contemplation, observing the changing light on the water, watching the sun set behind the horizon. My latest series, Khamsa khamsa khamsa, speaks of my four siblings and our childhood. With Mare Internum, I challenge the boundaries of the family circle by meeting users of Marseille's beaches. Photography serves as a tool for connection, and the coastlines become an equalizing space facilitating interaction. Intuitively documenting people or places dear to me, the inner sea becomes the main character of a personal experience.
The coastlines allow us to be close to the other side of the sea. I find a melancholic feeling of nostalgia, mixed with reverie and a desire for vague happiness, a longing for elsewhere. I photograph the metaxu, moments of in-between, between waiting and movement. The images speak of trust: I photograph with the other, the act unites us, allows us to face each other and see ourselves, or to face the sea together.
Julia Gat biography
Born in 1997, Julia Gat is a photographer and filmmaker based in Marseille, who graduated from the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam and the School of Visual Arts in New York.
Her work intertwines a documentary perspective with a skillful portrayal of portraiture and intimacy. She particularly focuses on family and personal environments: in her series Khamsa khamsa khamsa, the imagery appears to float like a latent memory while forming a more universal narrative. In her ongoing series Mare Internum, her work brings to the surface common denominators – everyday coastal landscapes, its horizons, and timeless reflections on collective life, connection, and solitude.
She has won the Polyptyque Prize 2022, the Steenbergen Public Prize 2021, and the Isem Young Photographer Prize 2020. Her work has been recently exhibited at the Rencontres d'Arles and the Museum of Photography in the Netherlands, and her first book Khamsa khamsa khamsa was published by Actes Sud Editions in 2022.