Whereas the lodging differ enormously from sofa to sofa, one factor is at all times sure: there usually isn’t a photograph of the place you’ll be sleeping. As an alternative, the descriptions written by hosts often give a way of what to anticipate—whether or not it’s a non-public room, a sofa, or generally even sharing a mattress with the host. This lack of certainty makes every sofa keep really feel like its personal distinctive expertise, formed by the host and the house they provide.
Every picture within the collection showcases a distinct host—somebody from a far-off nation with a singular story, job, and life-style. The vary is hanging: a free-spirited girl in Mexico who works at Reserving.com and events each night time, a authorities speechwriter from Canada, and a nudist in Brooklyn. Natcha’s lens captures not simply the hosts however the delicate dynamics that play out when dwelling underneath another person’s roof—generally cozy, generally awkward, however at all times deeply private.
The mission started throughout Natcha’s time in artwork faculty in New York, the place she turned to Couchsurfing as a technique to ease the loneliness of beginning contemporary in a brand new metropolis. For her, it was greater than only a technique to discover a mattress for the night time—it was a chance to attach, study, and develop. The collection is a portrait of those connections—some fleeting, others enduring—and a mirrored image on how, ultimately, we’re all simply vacationers on the lookout for a spot to name residence.