Gomma Photography Grant 2023
Uncertain Land : Climate Change and the plight of the internally displaced population of South Sudan
Photographer
Christina Simons
Uncertain Land : Climate Change and the plight of the internally displaced population of South Sudan
23 Feb, 2024
Whilst conducting research for my next piece of work, I was drawn to the plight of South Sudan. It seemed impossible to relate to the overwhelming statistics linked to climate induced flooding and the magnitude of internal displacement of people that it had caused. While alarmed by the numbers, I found it difficult to conceptualise the scale of the issue – what could the displacement of 2.2 million people within one country look like? I endeavoured to find out and decided to try and compile a visual representation of these statistics, adding faces and landscapes to illustrate the inhumanity of the experience of the South Sudanese; to assist in telling their stories and express what many in the developed world cannot possibly imagine to be true. Statistics tell only part of the story and are too easily dismissed. Providing visual context allows others to connect with humanitarian issues on an emotional level and more importantly, triggers understanding, empathy and a compulsion to act.
About the photographer
Christina Simons
Christina Simons is an award-winning international documentary photographer focused on humanitarian issues and cultural diversity. Her work has been exhibited throughout Australia, the United States, England, Europe, UAE, Russia and Mexico. Icelandic & American, Simons resides in Australia and is a member of the Women Photograph collective. Throughout her 25-year visual arts career, she has been represented in publications such as The New York Times, The BBC, The Guardian and many others. Simons has also worked with several NGOs such as Medicines Sans Frontiers (MSF) and UNICEF. Her passion for human rights and subcultures has culminated in various bodies of work, such as: • ‘Running to Nowhere’ – the Central American refugee crisis, this multi-award-winning body of work garnered several exhibitions and a book publication • ‘Lil Bullfighters’ – a multi-award winning series portraying child bullfighters in Mexico • ‘The Haiti Project’ – highlighting the plight of children in domestic servitude in Haiti • ‘Derby Girls’ – a multi-award winning series depicting the sport of roller derby in Australia • ‘From Violence to Peace’ – focusing on positive parenting in Papua New Guinea • ‘Casa Xochiquetzal’ – depicting a home for retired sex workers in Mexico More recently, Simons has focused her attention on climate change and social impacts. Her work on assignments commissioned by the New York Times on the impact of bushfire in southeastern Australia in 2019 – 2020 earned various accolades. In 2022, Simons turned her attention to the impacts of extensive flooding brought about by climate change in South Sudan, working independently and together with MSF to highlight the plight of the South Sudanese. Simons’ passion for social justice and compulsion to observe has resulted in the creation of striking bodies of work that offer unique visual commentary upon important social, environmental and cultural issues.
