Ice Cohabitation: Ice on Light Studies.
Ice Cohabitation: Ice on Light Studies.
I was deeply shaken from drought and bush fires threatening our farm in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, when I joined an expedition to the Antarctica in late 2019/2020.
When I first saw the light striking across the water and smacking into the ice, I was struck by the unbelievable beauty. Everything is so dramatic. The contrasts from home were staggering. I saw the angry red back in Australia as fires engulfed our native landscape. I was sitting in pure white untouched beauty.
I devoured the clean untouched beauty after the dark dryness of drought and fire.
I returned to Australia for COVID lock down. I was forced to sit with these landscapes for months, isolated on our farm waiting for borders to re-open. Although it was a dark time for me, I want these photographs to show there is hope for us to preserve what we have left in our natural environment. Much of my career has been documenting challenges facing developing countries. My photographs explore how people are entwined with one another, and their environment, in inherently similar ways across the globe. That concept is now broadened to include a new understanding of the importance of protecting our environment. Ice Cohabitation: Light on Ice Studies marks my optimism in the partnership of humanity and nature.
The resulting works I captured during this time explore concepts of human involvement within our natural environment during this time of climate change and challenges to the Australian environment. ICE COHABITATION asks the question, can this ice environment, with its multitude of species, survive in the augmented race by the humans for control of nature’s final frontier? I want these photographs to show there is hope for us to preserve what we have left in our natural environment. This hope is reflected in the shimmering light across the water and the dawn light floating through the clouds skirting shadowed mountains. There is optimism reflected in the light bouncing back in shafts across the large ice formations.