“Brackish” is a photo and text-based series by New York-based photographer Grant Willing. His work has been exhibited internationally and he has self-published books of photographs and drawings on subjects ranging from black metal to citrus fruits.

See more images and a text excerpt from “Brackish” below.

Tomorrow I leave to go south to an island by myself. I am leaving my mother on her own for her last day abroad. We share our last meal in the city together. We talk about baseball, and how she is looking forward to returning to the US.

I say goodbye in the morning with a hug. My mother tells me to call her when I return. I do not tell her I love her. She does not tell me she loves me. I feel anxious about making my train on time, even though I am early. I tell my mother I will send her a picture from the island.

It is 12:49 in the waiting room for the ferry to the island. A football team of young girls gather and giggle, holding plastic containers of köttbullar and bottles of seltzer water. They are tall and blonde, and one shorter red-haired girl is forced to stand while the other girls sit in the remaining seats. The red-haired girl gazes out of the window at the ferry. Direct sunlight fills the room and sets her hair aglow, highlighting the loose braid in the back and the vellus on her neck shimmers. She pivots and acknowledges her teammates as the gate is opened, she waits for them to form a line and files in last.