A couple of weeks back I went to join the first days of the Extinction Rebellion demonstrations in London. Before you roll your eyes… I primarily went along to have a look at what was going on and try and take some pictures of people and things that are not my usual subject matter. Whilst I agree with the message I was concerned that direct action is a difficult thing to get right; the central message can often be hijacked by a minority with a simple anti establishment motivation or the whole thing can simply be misrepresented in the media as a nuisance rabble that disrupts the lives of everyday people without solving anything. As it was, I spoke to lots of people over the course of several days on the streets and the message was the same; they were simply people of all ages and backgrounds who understand the existential threat to the one planet we have and want to persuade those in power that now is the time to act and understand that failure to do so will be catastrophic. Many spoke about how they felt they had no choice but to get involved and at least try to force change to happen for the sake of the planet, their children and grandchildren. Several told me how they would prefer to be at home with their families rather than stood on the street but that they had an obligation to be there for the sake of the future of the planet. At the end of two weeks of demonstrations in London and around the world, attention has been focused on the movement and most importantly; the message. Time will tell if those with the power to do so will take meaningful action.
Some of the portraits here have accompanying text from short interviews I conducted… click on images for larger version then hover your cursor over the image to read.
