Two boys by the Atlantic Ocean
Moving like the earth in motion

And though the sun hid behind a mask of clouds
And chasing winds came in contact with their skin

Still they stood there
Feeling the rocks beneath their feet
Chills down their spines
As water passes through their fingertips

Still they stand and say:

“Don’t worry, O Great One
We come in peace
Admiring only your beauty
And what lies beneath and within.”

Chrysalis (noun): the transitional state of a pupa before it becomes an adult butterfly or moth.

This photo series explores the body’s movement and blooming through life’s stages: suffering, pain, and trauma; and the joys of living, loving, and belonging by being reborn and reshaped into something or someone, and by allowing our imaginations to become a reality.

Chrysalis, Swakopmund, Namibia, 2020. © Namafu Amutse.

 

Chrysalis, Swakopmund, Namibia, 2020. © Namafu Amutse.

 

Chrysalis, Swakopmund, Namibia, 2020. © Namafu Amutse.

 

Chrysalis, Swakopmund, Namibia, 2020. © Namafu Amutse.

 

Chrysalis, Swakopmund, Namibia, 2020. © Namafu Amutse.

 

Chrysalis, Swakopmund, Namibia, 2020. © Namafu Amutse.

 

Chrysalis, Swakopmund, Namibia, 2020. © Namafu Amutse.

 

Chrysalis, Swakopmund, Namibia, 2020. © Namafu Amutse.

 

Chrysalis, Swakopmund, Namibia, 2020. © Namafu Amutse.

 

Chrysalis, Swakopmund, Namibia, 2020. © Namafu Amutse.

 

Chrysalis, Swakopmund, Namibia, 2020. © Namafu Amutse.

 

Chrysalis, Swakopmund, Namibia, 2020. © Namafu Amutse.

 

Chrysalis, Swakopmund, Namibia, 2020. © Namafu Amutse.

 

Chrysalis, Swakopmund, Namibia, 2020. © Namafu Amutse.

 

Chrysalis, Swakopmund, Namibia, 2020. © Namafu Amutse.

 

Chrysalis, Swakopmund, Namibia, 2020. © Namafu Amutse.

 

© Chrysalis, Swakopmund, Namibia, 2020. Namafu Amutse.

 

Chrysalis, Swakopmund, Namibia, 2020. © Namafu Amutse.

 

Chrysalis, Swakopmund, Namibia, 2020. © Namafu Amutse.

 

Chrysalis, Swakopmund, Namibia, 2020. © Namafu Amutse.

 

Chrysalis, Swakopmund, Namibia, 2020. © Namafu Amutse.

 

Chrysalis, Swakopmund, Namibia, 2020. © Namafu Amutse.

 

Chrysalis, Swakopmund, Namibia, 2020. © Namafu Amutse.

 

Chrysalis, Swakopmund, Namibia, 2020. © Namafu Amutse.

 


Namafu Amutse is filmmaker, photographer, art director, and writer from Swakopmund, Namibia. She is currently pursuing a Bachelors of Education Honours degree in English and German at the University of Namibia (UNAM). Her work is fuelled by Southern African tradition, feminism, and Afrofuturism. She also wrote and directed her short film ‘Mukumo’, which premiered in July, 2020 at the National Theatre of Namibia.

Cover Image: Namafu Amutse.