Whereas the lodging range tremendously from sofa to sofa, one factor is at all times sure: there sometimes 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 typically 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 area they provide.
Every photograph within the sequence showcases a special host—somebody from a far-off nation with a novel story, job, and way of life. The vary is putting: a free-spirited lady 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 refined dynamics that play out when dwelling below another person’s roof—typically cozy, typically awkward, however at all times deeply private.
The mission started throughout Natcha’s time in artwork college in New York, the place she turned to Couchsurfing as a method to ease the loneliness of beginning contemporary in a brand new metropolis. For her, it was greater than only a method to discover a mattress for the night time—it was a possibility to attach, be taught, and develop. The sequence is a portrait of those connections—some fleeting, others enduring—and a mirrored image on how, in the long run, we’re all simply vacationers in search of a spot to name house.