ON THE SHORE OF A VANISHING ISLAND, GHORAMARA
West Bengal, India. 2011
Ghoramara island is located in the delta region of West Bengal. The island is quickly disappearing due to the dramatic increase in sea level, resulting from the effects of climate change. Since the 1960’s, the shores of this island are being perpetually washed away. And since the 1980’s, more than 50% of the territory has vanished due to erosion by the sea. As a result, two-thirds of the population have moved away from the island.
Many of the people still living on the island are farmers and fishermen who depend on the island’s resources for their livelihoods. According to a civil servant I met, in 20-25 years the Indian government could abolish the island and has already made a plan to evacuate villagers to another island named Sagar. However, this evacuation plan does not ensure any financial support or compensation for those having to relocate their lives.
I could see the traces of a heritage vanishing because of the rising tides. Exposed roots of plants destroyed by the erosion serve to illustrate the absence of foundation in the lives of these people. The sea is swallowing up their past while their future remains unknown.
The continually receding shore and vanishing vegetation leave behind a coast of sediment holding an ironic beauty of its own amid the increasingly barren shores. You could call it a tragic beauty caused by human hands. I invited villagers to the shore and took portraits of them in juxtaposition with the beauty of the vanishing island . There will come a day when these people will have no choice but to move out of their homeland. One day this island on which they were born will only exist in their memories .
FESTIVAL
Pluie d’images 2015
Ghoramara de Lee Daesung
Through February 27th 2015
Médiathèque de Pontanézen
9 rue Sisley
29200 Brest
Tél. 02 98 00 89 05
http://www.festivalpluiedimages.com
