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GalleryFrom deadly monsoons in Nepal and dramatic
flashfloodsin northeastern Spain, to the near-collapse of
WhaleyBridge dam in Derbyshire, 2019 has, quite literally,
been awash with news of global crises caused by a complex,
consistent pattern of rising water levels and submerged
landscapes. The number of flood reports worldwide has
surged by 50 per cent over the past 10 years and Gideon
Mendel’s documentary series ‘Drowning World’ is a
striking photographic record of the human cost of flooding.
‘It all began in 2007, with the floods that took place in
Yorkshire,’ he says of the project. ‘At the time, my children
were very young and they got me thinking about climate
change. I was trying to imagine their world when they get to
my age. I made my way to the [flooded areas of ] north
England that summer and started experimenting with
portraiture in water. I had no equipment; I was walking
around in my shorts and completely unprepared... but, for a
photographer, it was a very special time: the light, the
colours – everything looks different in a flood. You find
reflections where there should be none. It’s almost dream-like: frightening, strange, bizarre, yes, but there are still
somepositive elements, too. People help their neighbours;
thereis a lot of solidarity.’
The experience led to similar work in India, where
London-based Mendel discovered that extreme flooding
does not discriminate. ‘Whether you live in Yorkshire
or Bihar; whether you’re rich or poor, there exists a kind
of shared vulnerability and, despite the very different
contexts,people who have experienced severe floods have
a lot in common,’ he says.
Now, having created a catalogue of submerged portraits
to document survivors across the globe, Mendel is hoping
‘Drowning World’ will shine a light on the victims of
extreme weather events, and humanise the effects of
climate change. ‘There are no rules – the pathway to making
these pictures is unpredictable and chaotic, but I have
found that women often show greater strength in these
situations, and many want to bear witness to their ordeal in
order to get something positive out of the experience. Even
the floods have a character of their own,’ he adds.