Page 45 - Flaunt 175 - Diana

OLAF OTTO BECKER. “SVETLANA EVGRAFOVA, SAMOYLOV RESEARCH STATION, LENA DELTA, SIBERIA” (AUGUST, 2019).
the delta tundra in the unusually hot summer of 2019. Becker abstractly features vibrant flora in the area as a blooming display of magic and splendor, seemingly foreshadowing the demise of the ecosystem in total.
The book’s landscape focuses flow seamlessly into an an- thropological study in “Waiting in Tiksi”. This third and final installment delineates the somewhat lost and melancholic faces of Tiksi, who desperately cling to hope for their decom- posing, neglected town. Children playing in the decaying har- bor town cut a harsh line between the dichotomy of prosper- ity and the brink of extinction. Muddied waters, abandoned factories, and piles of scraps surround the families who choose to remain. “The children of the port city offer a great contrast to their surroundings,” Becker remarks. “They are
growing up in the ruins of their ancestors and will benefit in the medium to long term from the economic changes brought about by global warming in their city. In southern countries, however, many people will lose their homes due to global warming and experience an opposite development.”
Overall, Becker’s book depicts a narrative of the destabi- lizing forces of climate change, with remnants and juxtapo- sition of the last sublime pieces of ecology. The photographs impart the alienation humans have created in relation to nature, treating it like a throwaway object. In our ability to grieve over the altered landscapes, once pristine and un- touched, we must realize the necessity of treating nature like a child of our own—in harmony and care—so that the cher- ished idea of summer might actually endure.
45
OLAF OTTO BECKER. “SAMOYLOV, OLGA WITH PLANT SAMPLE, LENA DELTA, SIBERIA” (AUGUST, 2019).