Astonished

There is a kind of silence that takes hold when someone witnesses something difficult to explain. Yndiara Asp moves through the air in a trick that seems to command everyone’s attention for a few seconds. Two people watch the scene. One is wearing a Brazil jersey. The other stands nearby, as close to the action as we are, the spectators.

I like this photograph because it does not end with Yndiara. Skateboarding gave me a similar experience. I arrived to photograph and found a community that talks, watches, shares strategies, and follows one another’s progress. They are brought together by the same practice, even though each person brings their own story to the skatepark.

There is a human complexity in this shared space that no battery can shut down. Those who compete remain friends, rivals, students, teachers, and spectators. The roles shift with the moment, but the relationships continue through every encounter.

I was learning there, too. Moving through the backstage area, talking with athletes, and staying close to the action made me realize that photography could be a way of receiving knowledge. The exhibition that grew out of that experience may, for me, be one consequence of that sense of wonder.

The title comes from that state: astonished by a trick, but also by the discovery that watching someone can change the way we look at ourselves.