Drowning World is my response to climate change and the obsessive consumption that drives it. The flood is an ancient metaphor, with its connotation of water washing away sin. Yet some of those most affected by floods are the least to blame for their cause.
Portraits of flood victims are at the heart of the project. I frequently follow my subjects returning through deep waters, making the photographs at the remains of their homes. They address the camera, looking outward from the landscape of an environmental calamity that has all but destroyed their lives.
As the far-ranging impact of climate change is becoming increasingly evident, it is crucial to make work that depicts the individuality of the victims so they are not perceived as faceless statistics. Coming from disparate parts of the world, they show us the vulnerability they share despite the vast differences in their lives and circumstances.
My intention is not to shock but to move. As many of my images play with reflections in desperate situations, I hope those who see them reflect on their relationship with the natural world.
