Photographer Nick Brandt Imagines Surreal Underwater Existence Due to Climate Breakdown
Photographer Nick Brandt has focused on climate issues for decades. Brandt is incredibly prolific (we’ve covered some of his other projects here and here), and his creative and ingenious work…
The post Photographer Nick Brandt Imagines Surreal Underwater Existence Due to Climate Breakdown appeared first on Feature Shoot.
Photographer Nick Brandt has focused on climate issues for decades. Brandt is incredibly prolific (we’ve covered some of his other projects here and here), and his creative and ingenious work consistently explores the devastating effects of human activity on our planet.
“SINK / RISE” is the third installment of The Day May Break series, which “portrays people and animals impacted by environmental degradation and destruction.” It focuses on the consequences of rising sea levels in the South Pacific and the people (Fijians, in this case) who are being impacted by them.
If you’re lucky enough to be in Sun Valley, Idaho, this summer, Nick Brandt’s series is on view at Gilman Contemporary until July 30, 2024.
What initially drew you to explore the theme of rising sea levels in the South Pacific?
‘What drew me? Knowing what is expected to happen. As a result of climate breakdown, sea
level rise will impact hundreds of millions of people that live along coastlines and low-lying areas around the planet. For people who have lived in these places their entire lives, to abandon their homes and land, and often their livelihoods, to abandon everything they know, will of course be deeply traumatizing as they search for a new—and likely very different and compromised—place to call home.
‘The islands of the South Pacific are especially vulnerable. Many of them are barely a few
meters above sea level, and so in time will disappear entirely. Their economies are also
significantly based on the ocean that surrounds them. This is why I ended up choosing to
photograph in this region of the world for SINK / RISE.’
Can you walk us through a typical day on location during the shooting of “SINK / RISE”?
‘Out of about 200 local people living along the coast that we ‘auditioned’ to photograph, we
chose around twenty who looked the most relaxed and natural underwater. Each evening
before, I would choose around 6-8 to come out with us the following morning on the boat.
Each morning, we headed out on our boat one kilometer from the shore, to an area of ocean
floor: a field of broken coral fragments spread far and wide. This destruction had been caused in 2016 by Cyclone Winston, its power intensified by climate change. I don’t think that I fully understood until then just how much damage that cyclones could inflict under the ocean surface, smashing the delicate coral into millions of pieces.
‘We called the location the Boneyard. It would be our underwater studio for five weeks. We had weighted down all our furniture there for the duration. At just 2-4 meters depth, depending on the tide, it made shooting as safe as possible for the ‘cast’, and, in theory, meant that the ocean surface could be seen just over their heads.
‘We spent up to 7 hours a day underwater shooting. However, most days were frustratingly
short, because…..’
What were some of the challenges you faced?
‘…we experienced terrible water visibility day after day. As the tide went out, mud washing do from the from the island mountains muddied the water to such a degree that I could barely see to shoot more than a few meters.
‘Obviously the initial challenge was finding ways of weighting people and furniture to stop them floating upwards and swaying in the current. After much trial and error, and buying up all the island’s lead weights, and some ingenious other methods of stabilizing the people underwater, it was fine.’
How do you establish trust and connection with your subjects in such challenging
environments?
‘Everyone who was photographed – young and old – was already very used to free-diving in the ocean. But they had to get used to using a regulator. They all went through a basic scuba course, and during the shoot, had a couple of safety dive masters just out of shot, standing by to give them back their regulator the moment they felt like they were getting close to no longer being able to hold their breath. So they knew they were always in very good, safe hands.
‘Everyone was on the boat with us for multiple days, and it was really a team effort, to the
degree that when they weren’t being photographed, they volunteered to become part of the
crew, holding the floating large silk frames to block the sun, and ferrying anything up and down between boat and underwater crew.’
How do you approach the planning and logistics of an underwater photo shoot like “SINK /
RISE”?
‘We did preliminary testing in a swimming pool in southern California where I live, but in spite of that, we were wildly unprepared for the surging currents of the real ocean. However, like I
already mentioned, it took a few days of trial and error to figure out how to deal with that.’
In what ways do you hope “SINK / RISE” will provoke a conversation about climate change
and its impacts?
‘It’s always so hard to answer this question because in an ideal world, seeing the work sets the viewer on a journey of greater engagement, awareness and action about the impact humans are having on the planet.
‘As I have mentioned before, we need to all become good ancestors. We need to adopt a way of life that reduces the environmental impact that our actions will have on those billions of unborn yet to come. Can we show that we care about the humans and animals and trees that we will never live to see?’
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