Somerset West-born photographer Ian McNaught Davis’s work is currently being exhibited at the iconic Somerset House gallery in London.
The exhibition is presented by the Syngenta Photography Award, which has selected photographers responding to the theme of “Grow-Conserve”.
Ian has spent the past three years photographing daily life in 20 countries.
“I travelled by bicycle up South Africa for six months, photographing people and moments along the way,” he says.
“Then I continued to work my way overland to Ethiopia on buses, mini-buses, trains and by hitchhiking.
“From there I worked my way through Turkey, across the Caucuses region to Kazakhstan and then along the Mekong River in Southeast Asia,” he says.
During the journey he focused on documenting humans’ relationships with water, compiling a project entitled I Need You More Than You Need Me.
“My biggest realisation in producing this body of work was more of an insight into human nature than it was of the realities of water levels,” he says.
“I was often reminded that our relationship with water is not a symbiotic one; water is essential to our existence, yet we – its users – are a threat to the element itself.”
Two of his photographs – shot in Tanzania and Malawi – have been chosen for display at the London gallery, which runs until Tuesday March 28.
More of his work can be viewed at www.ianmcnaughtdavis.com
