From 2020 to 2023, I photographed every summer at Freibad Marzili in Bern. I set up a camera and two lights in front of a blue wall adjacent to the information screen. I began this project with the assumption that few people would consent to being photographed in their bathing suits. However, to my surprise, in the first year alone, I captured approximately 200 participants. This number doubled in 2021 and continued to rise steadily in both 2022 and 2023. To date, I have photographed over 1000 individuals, and gathered a collection of more than 5000 portraits.

I started the Marzili Portraits, like other series in my Street-Portraits Project, to shed light on the stories hidden within our everyday attire through the formal portrait. The project delves into clothing choices and our individual and collective identities, exploring how the ancient ritual of dressing up expresses our deep need for belonging and helps to define different social groups. I believe that, just like our everyday clothes, the seemingly simple appearance of bathing suits also provides a canvas in which our social affiliations, cultural roots, and personal narratives are inscribed. In the case of Marzili Portraits, the revealing of the skin, with its tattoos, scars and wrinkles unveils even deeper stories about the subjects portrayed.

I began the project with minimal direction, treating the volunteers as conceptual figures in a documentary catalog. At times, I arranged miniature scenes with strict poses, aiming to accentuate existing or imagined stories within subjects, couples, or groups. These minimal narratives remain open for interpretation by the viewer. By the third year, Marzili regulars became familiar with the project. During sunny weekends, lines formed as people eagerly awaited their turn. They began to pose and perform, actively participating in the process by showcasing tattoos, attire, and companions. Through their active involvement, they crafted their own portraits, sharing their Marzili experience through their performance.