Changing Natural Landscapes of the World - Togo, West Africa
As is the case for many people, I am interested in the issue of climate change and gradual global warming. This image is a direct consequence of these issues, depicting a home eroded by the rising coastline. West African countries, in particular, have been severely impacted by sea level rise. Photographer Renuncio's deliberate use of a vignette border strikes me with its ability to confine the impact of climate change to the level of the home. In combination with the child subject, I imagine this has the effect of personalising this issue.
Another reason this image permeates my consciousness is that this focus on the dilapidated home does not align with our traditional understanding of the impacts of climate change. In this way, sea level rise does not only impact the natural world, but also infringes upon human existence. We are indeed capable of visualising its impacts on humanity, though the images that come to mind are those of polar ice caps and Venice, Italy. This image, instead, forces us to associate climate change with destruction at the local level, as it is seized in this photograph. A vicious degradation of the home environment is a more accurate depiction of the changing landscape of the world.
- Victoria Katsinas (z5364193)
Fidler, Matt. Environmental Photographer of the Year 2021 - In Pictures. The Guardian, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2021/nov/08/environmental-photographer-of-the-year-2021-in-pictures.