Coral Kids

Coral Kids follows children on Aitutaki as they relearn to swim to restore their reef. Using a slow, collaborative methodology with underwater cameras, this project documents the long, patient craft of becoming a lagoon custodian.

When we talk about the urgency of the climate crisis, we often overlook the actual time and patience it takes for a community to care for its own land. Coral Kids is a long-term project in Aitutaki, Cook Islands, that moves away from the rush of traditional imagery of environmental reportage, focusing instead on the slow process of a community reclaiming its relationship with the sea.

The heart of this story is a strange paradox: even though these children live on a coral atoll, many have lost the ancestral ability to swim. Before they can save a reef, they have to first learn how to be in the water. The work follows this slow transformation, from the vulnerability of a child’s first swim to the technical labour of tying coral fragments to ropes and tending to underwater nurseries.

This isn’t a project where I arrive with a script and shotlists. It’s built on trust and a "slow methodology" where the kids are co-authors. Inspired by the collaborative spirit of Wendy Ewald and the mentorship of filmmaker Gabrielle Brady, the camera is a shared tool. We are currently setting up photography workshops and a local darkroom so the children can document their own lives, transitioning from subjects to image-makers.

In line with the theme of the "Archipelago," I want to show that Aitutaki isn't just an isolated island in danger; it’s a place of collective agency where ancient memory and future survival meet.

Through underwater cameras, voice recordings, and the creation of a community zine, Coral Kids documents a generation learning the craft and the responsibility of staying at their island home.