OPEN ECO: Rachel Foster. Rainforest Salmon River, 2023

This lumen print was created by rubbing directly onto a small sand bank in a glacier-fed river close to where I live. Glaciers are disappearing rapidly all around the globe, intensifying risks of landslides and imbalances in freshwater fish habitat. The deep crimson is a result of the unusually warm and dry October afternoon during the salmon spawning season. Pacific salmon cannot tolerate warming rivers and are vulnerable to heat stress and mortality when water temperatures exceed 20 degrees Celsius. Photographs such as these provide a critical micro-window into the movements and components of our surroundings.

By sewing textiles, manipulating photographic emulsion, and creating analogue photographic rubbings, I explore relationships between wildlife, plants, and the land. I focus on themes of ecological grief and biodiversity resilience while exploring data visualisation techniques. I create works while undertaking wildlife surveys around wetlands, woodlands, and mountains throughout western Canada.

I am a British-Canadian ornithologist, artist, photographer, and educator who has spent the last six years working as a wildlife technician for government bodies, non-profit charities, and environmental consultancies across western Canada. My work includes nest surveying, raptor breeding monitoring, and bird ringing, which informs my practice as an artist and educator. My educational background includes a Photography BA, a Fish, Wildlife, and Recreation Diploma, and an independent research residency within Yellowstone National Park, USA.

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Photo Fringe invited artists to propose a single image to engage audiences and help us imagine a greener, fairer world. Artists were asked to respond to the question “How can photography make a difference to the climate crisis?"

The resulting outdoor exhibition of selected images by nineteen artists can be found on Brighton seafront next to the Upside Down House until 17 November 2024.

See all of the images together here

Created with funding from Arts Council England National Lottery Project Fund and the UK government and Brighton & Hove City Council through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. With print sponsorship from SAS Graphics.

Thanks to our judges Siân Berry, MP and Laura Summerton, Photography Manager, WaterAid.