Beyond the Pale

‘Beyond the Pale’ looks at how humans can reconnect with nature through the culture of wild swimming in Finland. The photographs are from 2023 and the project is ongoing.

Wild Swimming arouses a primal connection with nature, a more natural and simpler form of being. Attention is narrowed and breathing falls into a repetitive rhythm, disengaging you from the distractions of everyday life and the anxieties of the compulsively labeled and technological world. In Silent Spring Rachel Carson wrote ‘There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature’. Recent studies have shown that exposure to natural environments not only boosts mental well-being but enhances physical health at a cellular level. Urban dwellers face higher levels of stress and anxiety and exhibit what ecologist Robert Pyle terms, extinction of experience – a disconnect from nature that leads to indifference towards ecological preservation. Spending time in nature is therefore vital to counter the trend of indifference, for both personal wellbeing and the future of the environment. ‘Beyond the Pale’ explores the relationship between humans and nature through the culture of wild swimming in Finland – a country known for abundant nature and where, due to an archipelagic coastline and a mainland comprising thousands of lakes, you are never far from a body of water. Swimming in nature is therefore part of the cultural fabric, a favored pastime, and an activity known to regulate mood and reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. ‘Beyond the Pale’ documents the culture of wild swimming in Finland and explores how humans can reconnect with the primal rhythms of nature.