How do you picture something as vast and overwhelming as climate change? Italian photographer Giacomo d’Orlando frames the problem with images that tell stories of the communities and people most affected by it: those whose lives are entwined with the ocean. Tender, personal images show coastal residents deploying solutions and strategies to adapt to environmental change, from replanting sea grass to developing new fishing practices. The photographer uses portraits, aerial photos and underwater imagery to capture the complexity of the situation, from flooded homes and threatened livelihoods to the fish and corals caught in the crisis. Some of the images are straightforwardly documentary; others, such as a photograph of a house in Pekalongan, Indonesia, allude to larger metaphorical truths. In it, the abandoned structure rises from a sea of calm water at twilight; nearby, a single mangrove tree — a species key to stemming coastal erosion — rises out of the mud. Giving ground, the image seems to say, doesn’t always mean giving up.
‘Giacomo d’Orlando: Symbiosis
On view through April 10 at the Current in Stowe.
This article appears in March 11 • 2026.
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