For the past two years, Sophie Ebrard has followed Lalo de Maria, a young French bullfighter, documenting the strange, private world that exists beyond the arena - the training, rituals, waiting and obsessive preparation

Bullfighting is a brutal and deeply contested tradition, and these photographs aren't a celebration of it. Rather, they reflect Sophie's fascination with gaining access to unfamiliar worlds and looking closely at the people who inhabit them - even when those worlds are difficult or uncomfortable.

The resulting images are an intimate portrait of obsession and belief within a tradition that, for many of us, belongs firmly in the past.

2nd place winner of International Photography Awards in Extreme sports and exhibiting at Het Mauritshuis from 4th March 2027.

Feature article in Creative Review here.