Emilio Cresciani
 Against the Flow
 
 
 
 Industrial waste. Concrete pipes. Native flora. Invasive weeds. Rubbish.
 
  Nature and industry blurred.
 
 The contrasting industrial remnants and natural beauty of the Cooks River, Sydney’s toxic waterway. A landscape in transition, now under reinvigoration.
 
 Documenting the river walkway during my 5km covid lockdowns I reflected on the interaction between place and people.
 
 Hidden in the foliage and tidal swamps, the remains of our consumer culture - plastic bags, bottles, cans and containers. Concrete and steel pipes hint at previous industry.
 
 By inverting an image of the riverbanks I refocus on our ecosystem. ‘Seeing’ afresh light and shadows, movement and stillness, colour and tone, forms and fluidity. Like an x-ray, small marks reveal the negative side, or effects, of our consumerism.
 
 Can we go against the flow and be good caretakers of our planet?