The increased frequency and strength of super storms, paired with rising sea levels, have begun to erode and redraw coastlines all over the world. This transformation has affected billions of lives and taken countless others. Scientists believe rising seas will be the catalyst for the largest human migration in history. 


The desire to live in close proximity to the ocean has driven development on low lying shoals, unstable cliffs and flood plains. With its own engineered impermanence, these coastal communities stand boldly in the face of imminent destruction. This body of work explores coastal areas in the United States heavily impacted by rising seas.


Photographing and living in these environments has exposed my own conflict. Understanding the danger and folly of building in close proximity to the ocean, it still beckons. I was born by the sea and have returned to it. When I am away, I feel its pull. The duality of the ocean is profound: its tranquil beauty and its surging violence; its power to nourish and destroy. Will we abandon our coastline or continually rebuild? Photographing our relationship with ocean, humanity dwarfed and changed by the power of the ocean, and the unparalleled beauty at the edge of the sea, is a way to start reconciling these rising times.

© 2019  Jacob Hessler  |  Hessler Creative