Cold Sun (Icelandic: Kald Sòl) by French photographer and videographer Thomas Meurot documents a two-week cold-water surfing expedition in Iceland in January 2023, following friends who seek waves in subzero winter seas. Meurot contrasts the vast, indifferent Icelandic landscape with a small group of surfers intent on reviving a 1970s spirit of sharing and adventure, pushing back against contemporary commercial imagery of warm-water perfection and resort comfort. The work questions who surfing is for, insisting that demanding, remote breaks are not the exclusive domain of elite athletes.
Visually, the series leans into an austere black-and-white language. Wide frames give generous space to volcanic mountains, snowy fjords, and heavy skies, while the surfers appear as small, mobile elements within the broader environment. Static scenes of walking, driving, and waiting are interwoven with dynamic moments of paddling and riding, so that logistics, exhaustion, and exposure become as visible as the ride itself. Against this backdrop, the atmosphere reads as raw and restrained, emphasizing distance, wind, and cold rather than spectacle.
Technically speaking, Cold Sun emerges from a hybrid working method. Focused chiefly on directing his first documentary film of the same title, Meurot alternates between shooting video and stills in the low, lingering winter light of Icelandic January, a light that feels like sunrise all day. Autofocus grappling with dense snowfall, limited dexterity in the cold, and long approaches on foot all shaped what could be recorded. In post-production, removing color establishes a monochrome register that conveys the sensation of cold and sharpens attention on the textures of snow, rock, and water.
The series won 1st Place in the Sport category of the Professional competition at the Sony World Photography Awards 2024, leading to international exhibition at Somerset House in London and subsequent traveling shows in Europe, alongside screenings of the related documentary at surf and mountain film festivals.
