Environment 2nd Place

As our global temperatures rise we have seen an unprecedented increase in the extremity of wildfires around the world. In 2021 I travelled to Greece, Canada and the USA to document the aftermath of fires that had destroyed homes, killed numerous people and burnt millions of acres of land. I choose not to document the burning flames, but rather to seek out their aftermath. These portraits are made across different communities and cultures around the world. My subjects pause and engage the camera, looking out from their devastated lives. While their poses may seem conventional, the context is catastrophe, and their gazes are unsettling. They are not disempowered victims: in their encounter with the camera they invite us to engage with the calamity that has befallen them, bearing witness to the impacts of climate change which will be so much worse unless meaningful action is taken.

Gideon Mendel’s intimate style
 of image-making and long-term commitment to socially engaged projects has earned international recognition. Born in Johannesburg
in 1959, Mendel began his career documenting the final years of apartheid in South Africa. Since 2007 Mendel has been documenting climate change, photographing both floods and fire. His work has been widely published, his images have been used in climate protests while
his photographs; installations and video pieces are increasingly seen
in gallery and museum contexts.