London Burning

‘London Burning’ invites us to confront society’s fragility and to acknowledge the pressing need for radical change, resilience, and the necessity of a collective response to safeguard our future in the face of an increasingly unpredictable climate.

The photographic series “London Burning” serves as a visual record of the unprecedented events that unfolded on July 19th 2022 when London sweltered under record temperatures of forty degrees Celsius, igniting multiple fires across the city. In this metropolis, where climate change often feels like a distant problem, the series brings home the harsh reality that no place is immune from its devastating consequences.

I try to go beyond mere documentation of an event by encapsulating the human aspect of the experience, in a deprived city suburb, where marginalised communities struggle to cope with the infernos. The juxtaposition of the ordinary and extraordinary is striking - the burning estate in the backdrop, with the young residents documenting the unfolding catastrophe engulfing their neighbourhood on their phones in the foreground. The series is characterised by a haze of smoke that permeates the photographs, shrouding the images in an eerie, apocalyptic ambiance. The subtleness and muted colours evoke a sense of foreboding and vulnerability, underlining the fragility of our man made urban landscape in the face of nature’s fury.

In choosing to photograph a fire in London I bring the issue home and encourage viewers to reflect upon, and confront the reality of the climate crisis in our own backyards, it has become an undeniable reality that demands our attention. ‘London Burning’ invites us to confront society’s fragility and to acknowledge the pressing need for radical change, resilience, and the necessity of a collective response to safeguard our future in the face of an increasingly unpredictable climate.