My Creative Universe

Nazaré: The Genesis of Motion and the Origin of Surfers

Creative Process Documentary | Surfers Exhibition (Aurora Vigil-Escalera, 2021)

The creative process behind the Surfers series traces its roots to the coast of Nazaré (Portugal), the global epicenter of big wave surfing and the setting for the ocean’s most formidable records. In 2021, an immersive research journey to the legendary Praia do Norte allowed Javier Torices to absorb the vital atmosphere, monumental scale, and untamed energy that define this unique environment.

Through extensive field study involving thousands of photographs and video recordings, the artist analyzed firsthand the dynamics of the sea, the play of light through spray, and humanity’s ancestral connection with the ocean’s raw power. This direct experience not only built a rich visual archive for the studio, but also captured the core essence of the exhibition: the surfer not merely as an athlete, but as a symbol of freedom, connection, and scale against the vastness of the sea. The process video documents this initial quest—a journey into the heart of the ocean where the foundational concept for the collection took shape.