At Water’s Edge
Paul Blackmore
T&G Publishing
Forward by Robert McFarlane
Hardcover with Dust Jacket
132 pages
310 x 260 mm
2012
ISBN 9780987079091
“At Water’s Edge, the long-awaited publication from photographer Paul Blackmore, explores the relationship between humanity and its most vital natural resource. This extraordinary body of work – spanning 11 years and 14 countries – provides a global look at how water flows through the spiritual and physical daily lives of people around the world. The photographs poignantly illustrate the unfolding drama of the global water crisis and how it is affecting those caught up in it: a billion people without access to clean water, another four billion without an adequate supply. Against this dire backdrop, the work also celebrates the quiet, yet essential connection with nature that water offers us. At Water’s Edge begins in in the year 2000, during the Eritrean/Ethiopian war, when a lack of water became drastically affected those attempting to flee the conflict. The scarcity of clean water has also evolved into a devastating drama still seen in many Third World cities, particularly in Mumbai, where even the city’s poorest citizens are forced to pay exorbitant amounts for clean water. Blackmore also explores strange scenarios that occur when seas die. In Kazakhstan, Blackmore discovered that a once glistening body of water, the Aral Sea, had lost two-thirds of its volume after source waters had been diverted for cotton irrigation, during the Soviet era. Blackmore recorded a desolate, surreal image of a lone, rusting fishing boat stranded on the dry seabed, symbolising the Aral Sea’s now devastated fishing industry. Contrasting strongly with powerful environmental statements are images of extraordinary beauty, as Blackmore defines the global spiritual and religious importance of water. Spiritual ecstasy experienced during the Saut D’eau Voodoo waterfall pilgrimage in Haiti contrasts with the Mayim Shelanu water collecting ritual in Israel. At Water’s Edge also explores images that range from the icy temperatures of the Festival of the Epiphany in Russia to the steamy waters of the Japanese ‘onsen’.”
About the Artist
Paul Blackmore is renowned for covering social and political issues in Australia and internationally, Blackmore’s books, work and essays have been exhibited and published widely. Blackmore’s highly regarded first book, Australians: Response to the Land examined how the tough Australian environment animates and influences Australian culture. Blackmore is one of a new generation of photojournalists – reporters of reality –whose elegant, coherent and enduring observations function as both valuable records of social change and stunning fine-art images.
paulblackmore.com
(source: https://www.paulblackmore.com/about)
About the Publisher
T&G Publishing is an Australian-based award-winning which specialises in establishing a creative dialogue with the acclaimed photographers they publish. Using the finest design and most advanced printing practices, T&G are committed to showcasing elite photographic art.
tgpublishing.com.au
(source: https://www.tgpublishing.com.au/about)
