The Unseen

This is a series of images looking at the pollution in our waterways caused by the practice of allowing storm water discharges (which discharge excess sewage and rainwater to rivers, lakes, or the sea when the sewer system is under strain).

 
The Rivers Trust publish an interactive map showing where the sewerage network discharged treated sewage and overflows of untreated sewage and storm water into rivers in England & Wales in 2022. This was used to identify where such discharges were taking place locally.
Using infra-red photography renders the subjects in a more eye-catching way. The camera has been adapted to receive only light from the red and infra-red end of the spectrum. People are used to seeing colour or black and white landscape images, portraying these using an infra-red camera subverts the traditional view of a landscape and attracts the attention of the viewer – bringing to the fore something that isn’t normally seen – the storm water discharge process.

 
The title of each image is significant, each title details the location that discharges took place as well as the number of occasions and duration of these discharges in 2022.