03/12/2021
COP OUT
Did the COP26 global climate conference leave you as deflated as I was? In the face of impending climate disaster I felt that our leaders let us down, yet again. Progress but not enough, too much talking, too many pledges, too little action. It left me wondering about the future consequences. My imagination was let loose. What if? When?
At the same time I was walking daily along Canal du Midi which had been drained for late autumn maintenance. Work began on the canal in 1666 and was completed in 1681, and since then it has been a major trade link between The Atlantic and The Mediterranean seas. Nowadays it’s mainly used for leisure and tourism. In 1996 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The empty canal looked sad, its vibrant summer tourism quelled. Fallen leaves and debris combining to present an image of decline and depression. What if? I thought. What if climate change causes this to be the norm? in 50 years, 100 years? What happens when the water runs out? Will it always look like this when the plug is pulled out? Is this a metaphor for our late autumn of humanity? What will the future debris left behind look like? A tourist industry ruined. Towns, villages, communities depopulated and left to rot, just like the sad, discarded objects in the canal. Just symptoms of a bigger global disaster.
This short series of B&W photographs are a fictional documentary series, letting my imagination document this possible future state when 400 years of history are left to decline.... If we don’t act then sooner or later it will happen. Its written there in B&W.
All photos Copyright 2021 James Rock
