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A Level of Rain
2024



After heavy rainfall, the low-lying land of the Somerset Levels floods. 

A Level of Rain showcases an up-close exploration of the changing landscape as the water level rises and affects the natural and human elements of the area.

This project incorporates video, stills, and written work in to one final collection.




Listen to the audio:  

        A Level of Rain

The Isles of Avalon
coddled by Quantock and Mendip
the low-lying flats are dormant and complacent
trunks holding
pastures green
deep roots, cemented strong
standing high viewing peak to peak
the laying low stretching vast between

And then comes the rain
slow and silent
drop after drop
clinging to blades and expanding mud
with un-dredged channels holding it captive
the level rises
submerging the earth below

growing

rising

falling faster and stronger
looking to the sky
wondering of the end

but days pass
weeks

it thickens
it stays
lingering
suffocating
drowning

pinning the hands of worker’s back
making trade aquatic

rivers pick pace and rise
swirls of mud surface
swallowed by rainfall
restless with movement
creeping down roads
slowly crawling through field and field
clawing at hedgerows
borders become obsolete
hidden under rising floods
life moving freely

but the lambs
they laugh
coats dappled in droplets
sharing space with curious swans that bathe in the excitement of the blue’s deep return
interested to see whether this
their loved emerald space
is now forever changed
must they learn to swim?
to seek the grass from water’s edge?

and as minds slow
so does the rain
the land becomes reflective
copying the clouds’ dances
and the sky’s pink glow

still
subdued
calm returning

vast mirrors coat acres
trees hug the surface
feeling the tickling increase creep up trunks
reaching out to hold branches’ hands
buds descending under

ripples distort clear lines
falling flat on immersed life
reeds trailing in the flow

rising

growing

rising



The individuals featured in A Level of Rain’s images range in age from seventy-six to one years old, some not even old enough to be aware of how their lives are affected by the changing water levels which will only keep increasing as weather becomes more dramatic and frequent due to climate change. 

Some villages of Somerset are purposefully flooded in order to reduce damages to more populated areas, such as bigger towns and cities. Changing the location of the flooding doesn’t alter the severity of the impacts to those who have to deal with the rising water.

Each portrait in this project has been physically submerged under water, creating visible distortions to the people and the landscape featured. This is a representation of the effects of those in the flooded areas.





To watch the final film of A Level of Rain, please follow the link below.














TALLULAH STRINGER

: tallulahstringer@gmail.com