Charlie Hamilton James's Image

Originally ignited to clear forest land for agriculture and cattle farming, a fire burned out of control in the Amazon. The people most imperiled by the fires in this area are the Awá – an Indigenous group. Just a few hundred members remain, ‘in a pocket of forest amid devastation’, says Charlie. He centred his composition around a single surviving tree of older forest.

Amazon deforestation can have disastrous consequences for Indigenous people. It also impacts wildlife as the Amazon is the largest tropical rainforest on Earth and houses at least 10 per cent of all known biodiversity. During wildfires, carbon stored in trees is released back into the atmosphere and trees that die stop producing oxygen, both of which contribute to climate change.