MICHAEL O’BRIEN

Michael writes, “I often get asked ‘why water, why boats?’ To me it’s the same question as ‘why do we go to the beach? Or, ‘why do we flock to lakes and rivers, why are we so drawn to water?’ The answers seem as obvious as they do fleeting and mysterious. Water offers us an opportunity to reset; to momentarily forget our troubles, concerns or deadlines. We can float weightless and silent, ride an endless supply of wind and waves or plunge beneath the surface to visit things that don’t inhabit our daily lives. The boats are vessels much like our own bodies. Within which we carry around interpretations and internalizations of the outside world and how it has affected us throughout our lives. We are individuals formed by the infinite sea of people and the cause-and-effect of our own triumphs and hardships. The boats filled with their surrounding water are metaphors of that very duality.”