‘After the Flood’ by Tine Guns: Contemplating the Aftermath of Destructive Human Activity

Belgian photographer Tine Guns has created a photo book titled After the Flood which captures life blooming at an artificial lake in Thailand. The lake was accidentally made when a large area of the jungle was flooded by the construction of a dam. The resulting photographs, done in nostalgic black and white as if it were a Chinese ink painting, highlights the fragility of nature at the hands of human infrastructure development. 

These photographs look as if they have been suspended between past and future. At a glance, viewers wouldn’t be able to tell the underlying gravity of the lake’s situation. Yet a closer look, which shows rocks and trees out of place, advocates for better caution in urban planning, so as to not create anymore man-made catastrophes. This is why After the Flood by Tine Guns is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Life on Land.

These photographs are especially timely since the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDR) has said in the 2022 global assessment report that human activity has been contributing to an increasing number of disasters. Summarized into 350 medium sized and 500 large sized disasters occurring globally in the past two decades, the report predicts that the number will only rise to 560 a year of 1.5 a day, by 2030. Many of these disasters have been and are predicted to be weather related, including fires and floods such as those recorded by After the Flood.

Tine Guns’ After the Flood serves as a poignant reminder of the consequences of human intervention on nature. By capturing the serene yet unsettling beauty of a man-made lake in Thailand, Guns highlights the delicate balance between human progress and environmental preservation. Her black-and-white photographs evoke a sense of timelessness, yet beneath the surface lies a call to action—to prevent further ecological damage through responsible urban planning. At the end of the day, After the Flood urges its viewers to reflect on the long-term impact of destructive human activities.

Find out more about After the Flood and other pieces by Tine Guns on her website www.tineguns.com or Instagram @tineguns.