UoB Photo Competition - People's Prize Winner: Between Air and Water: Where do you belong—above or below?

The water wraps around skin like a whisper, muffling the world beyond sight. Bubbles escape, shimmering fragments of breath, dissolving into the current. Here, between air and water, sensation takes over—the pressure of liquid against skin, the cool rush of movement, the vibration of sound distorted in an aquatic hush.

For those with visual impairments, blue spaces are not simply seen; they are felt, heard, embodied. But what happens when the world assumes nature is only for those who can see its beauty? How does it feel to navigate a space designed without you in mind?

This research challenges the romanticized narrative of water as universally freeing, instead asking: who gets to access this freedom? Through the voices of VI individuals, it explores how blue spaces both embrace and exclude, soothe and alienate. It calls for a new way of seeing—one that listens, adapts, and truly includes.