When it comes to themes of climate crisis and environmental destruction, Nick Brandt (b. 1964) is one of the most compelling photographers working today. Since the early 2000s, he has focused his lens on the progressive disappearance of the natural world, joining contemporary names like Edward Burtynsky, with his striking aerial views, and Mandy Barker, known for her arrangements of ocean plastic, in making the devastating impact of human activity on Earth plain to see. Now, Gallerie d’Italia, Turin, presents The Day May Break. The light at the end of the day, a “global series in four chapters” that focuses on animals, environments and people devastated by climate change. Brandt’s choice of locations is intentional: these are regions among the least responsible for the crisis, yet disproportionately affected by its consequences.
The first part of the show, Chapter One (2021), is set in Kenyan and Zimbabwean sanctuaries, which offer a home to animals rescued from habitat destruction and poaching. Here, elephants, rhinos and other species are depicted in the same frame as individuals affected by climate change – displaced by devastating cyclones or impoverished by prolonged drought. The resulting tableaux are greyscale, almost surreal, and often illuminated by a single light bulb. For Chapter Two (2022), the second part of the series, Brandt travelled to Bolivia – a country amongst the top 15-20 most biodiverse in the world. It’s now increasingly threatened by fires, floods and drought. Again, the artist foregrounds both animals and people whose lives are marked by climate collapse, “united by a shared fate faced with resilience and dignity.”
With SINK / RISE, Chapter Three (2023), created in the Fiji Islands, the artist represents communities who, in the coming decades, are likely to lose homes, land and livelihoods to rising sea levels. The photographs were made underwater, on an area of ocean floor damaged by Cyclone Winston in 2016. “A field of broken coral fragments spread far and wide,” Brandt reflects. “I don’t think that I fully understood until then just how much damage that cyclones could inflict under the surface, smashing the delicate coral into millions of pieces.” The area became an underwater studio and, for six weeks, was witness to an extraordinary, technically challenging shoot. Brandt’s cast – all of whom live close to the ocean in Savusavu, on the island of Vanua Levu – are shown performing everyday activities, like sitting around the kitchen table or riding a seesaw, whilst 2-4 metres deep. The resulting images show air bubbles tracing the sides of faces, contrasting the beauty of the marine environment with the unsettling feeling of imminent loss.
The exhibition concludes with The Echo of Our Voices, Chapter Four (2024), which will be shown for the very first time in Turin. The black-and-white series features Syrian refugee families who are now living in Jordan – one of the most water-scarce countries in the world. These communities are experiencing a state of continuous displacement; they are forced to move their homes “up to several times a year” to wherever agricultural work is available – locations in which there has been enough rainfall to enable crops to grow. Taken in the deserts of southern Jordan, the pictures are sculptural and statuesque. Brandt explains: “The stacks of boxes that the families sit and stand together on aim skyward – a verticality implying a sense of strength or defiance – providing pedestals for those that, in our society, are typically unseen and unheard.”
The Day May Break is a remarkably powerful show. Each instalment is the result of months of collaboration, planning and preparation, with local crews who know the lands and communities involved. Brandt’s pictures occupy a space between fine art and documentary, uniting visual composition – staging, light and mood – with a strong ethical commitment to those in the frame. Like all great environmental artists, including Burtynsky and Barker, Brandt’s delivers work that is beautiful – but with a gut-wrenching twist.
Nick Brandt. The Day May Break is at Gallerie d’Italia, Turin, from 18 March to 6 September.
Words: Eleanor Sutherland
Image Credits:
1. Joel and Sosi, Fiji, 2023 © Nick Brandt
2. F’taim and Family, Jordan, 2024 © Nick Brandt
3. Akessa Looking Down II, Fiji, 2023 © Nick Brandt
4. Ben and his Father Viti, Fiji, 2023 © Nick Brandt
5. Rakan Sisters, Jordan, 2024 © Nick Brandt
6. Onnie and Keanan on Seesaw, Fiji, 2023 © Nick Brandt
