Photography: Dae Sung Lee photographs a beautiful but quickly disappearing island

Date
12 September 2013

Ghoramara is a small island located in West Bengal, whose inhabitants are forced to deal with a frightening but rapidly approaching fact every day; their home is being eroded away. The quickly rising waters caused by the drastic rise in temperature over recent years has swept more than 50 per cent of Ghoramara into the ocean, leaving remaining islanders to choose between staying and risking their lives and livelihoods, or to move to neighbouring islands where they will have nothing.

From this frightening reality, Korean photographer Dae Sung Lee has managed to wrestle a stunning photographic series, which is intended to help spread awareness about the ravaging effects of climate change whilst simultaneously acting as a tribute to the island and its people. His photographs are almost deceptively beautiful; dominated by the hazy sun and the miles of murky water which surrounds them, his subjects stand almost defensively guarding the remains of their island against an inevitable future.

He explains: “I could see the traces of a heritage vanishing by 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.”

Above

Dae Sung Lee: On the Shore of a Vanishing Island

Above

Dae Sung Lee: On the Shore of a Vanishing Island

Above

Dae Sung Lee: On the Shore of a Vanishing Island

Above

Dae Sung Lee: On the Shore of a Vanishing Island

Above

Dae Sung Lee: On the Shore of a Vanishing Island

Above

Dae Sung Lee: On the Shore of a Vanishing Island

Above

Dae Sung Lee: On the Shore of a Vanishing Island

Above

Dae Sung Lee: On the Shore of a Vanishing Island

Share Article

Further Info

About the Author

Maisie Skidmore

Maisie joined It’s Nice That fresh out of university in the summer of 2013 as an intern before joining full time as an Assistant Editor. Maisie left It’s Nice That in July 2015.

It's Nice That Newsletters

Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox? Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.