/ 2026 / Press / Feature Story

• Prize
  Honorable Mention
• Photographer
  Ivaylo Bozhinov, Bulgaria
• Date of Photograph
  2026

Between the sea and a mineral pool lies a place without a clear definition. Built in the 1970s, the bath remains open and free, maintained today by volunteers. People come here not simply to swim, but to stay — submerged, slowed, at rest. In the space between two waters, bodies gradually relax and differences begin to dissolve. Outside the water, everyone carries their own weight; here, it temporarily disappears. In recent years, growing interest from developers has threatened the site, yet it continues to survive through a shared resistance — a collective refusal to let it be taken away.