Bihar,India, 2007
‘I was travelling by boat to this
village in Bihar when I saw these
two women, Shinta and Samundri,
swiftly moving through the water.
I was surprised but I soon realised
that they were actually walking on
a road, which was higher than the
houses. They seemed to be familiar
with their environment and were on
their way to buy cooking oil from a
nearby stall. They didn’t stop for
long though: they didn’t want
people to steal their things.’
RioBranco, Brazil, 2015
‘This area is so often flooded that
many houses now stand on stilts.
I found a man called José, his wife
andmother all busily cleaning the
walls of their home with flood water
before the levels dropped again.
Later, I found his mother sitting
outside, relaxing in the cool water,
smoking her cigarette. She told me
that she enjoys the floods when
they come, because the water is
fresh and pleasant to be in.’
Somerset,UK, 2014
‘Everyone who experiences flooding
has a strong urge to return to their
house to survey the damage. Shirley
was particularly keen to get home.
She had been flooded the year
before and had only recently moved
back in. The water surrounding her
home was too deep for us to walk
in, so I arranged for a boat to drop
us at her front door. I was shooting
video footage of her as she opened
the door and walked inside – it was
as if I was experiencing the shock
with her. She realised that a box
of photographs placed on top of
a table had been knocked off by
the rising water, so, my assistant
Joe and I spent some time rescuing
the photographs from under the
water. I will always remember that
shared experience.’