The human face of climate change

Earth’s atmosphere is steadily warming due to greenhouse gas emissions. While experts discuss the possible consequences and politicians are apparently powerless to do anything about it, untold numbers of people are already struggling with the devastating impact of a climate gone haywire. One of the greatest floods in the history of the region destroyed the home and business owned by Yang Gengbao and his wife in the Chinese province of Guangxi. The drying up of Lake Chad means that Abakar Maydocou Mahamat can no longer earn his livelihood as a fisherman. Margaret Aliurtuq Nickerson from western Alaska will soon have to leave her village, Newtok, since the ground is thawing, causing homes and streets to sink. In 2009, Mathias Braschler (*1969 near Aarau) and Monika Fischer (*1971 near St. Gallen) traveled to sixteen countries around the world, taking photographs of and conducting interviews with people whose existence is threatened by the consequences of climate change. (German edition ISBN 978-3-7757-2806-5) Exhibition schedule: Bermuda National Gallery, Hamilton, July 1–December 1, 2011 | Coalmine Fotogalerie, Winterthur, August 31–October 7, 2011