Missing summer? Dive into Emily Stein colourful and chaotic snaps of Italian waterparks

Lycra swimming hats, twisting waterslides, gaudy sculptures and neon-coloured fizzy drinks. These are some of the vibrant shapes and forms that collide in Emily Stein’s photographs of Italian water parks in the height of summer. The photographer describes them as “a study in colour, light, and nostalgia”. Aptly titled with retro cues, Aquasplash! was shot during Emily’s travels across Italy, at water parks she specifically chose for their colourful and dated aesthetic.

“A waterpark is summer turned up to full volume,” says the London-based photographer. “The visual richness of a waterpark is to me incredibly over-stimulating. A world overflowing with wonderful shapes, colours, textures and the palpable energy of over-excited visitors. It’s chaotic and completely alive.”

Built on observation of familiar scenes – a child splashing into bright blue water, or a colourful can left strewn on the tiled side of the pool – the series is more of a straight documentary than Emily’s previous projects. Her work is always colourful and portrait-driven, exploring youth, identity and cultural rites of passage, but with this project she didn’t add any styling or directing – it was all about observing. “My work has quite a specific aesthetic and is heavily focused on colour – this can be quite hard to find in everyday environments, which is why I was so keen to work on this project idea,” she says. “The beauty of the environment is I did not have to pull anything out in the edit – the images have very little editing at all apart from subtle saturations to the colours.”

The park was full of sculptural elements like multicoloured waterslides, pastel pink lockers and vending machines. These became as important to capture as the people. “They possess a beauty and presence of their own, while also evoking memories of sickly sweet thirst-quenchers and hours spent desperately shaking capsule machines, trying to coax one out,” she says.

It’s true – the photos do stir a visceral response, conjuring collective experiences most of us share. The feeling hot sun on your skin, the smell of suncream, and memories of sliding down a tube with your friends. In a world that’s constantly modernising, these photos offer a comfort in knowing that some places and experiences stay exactly the same.