Left Behind: A Generation Waiting in the Shadows of Our Distraction, Piha, Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), 4 May 2025

In this image, a man stands on a beach, engrossed in his phone, while just beside him, a baby doll lies abandoned in the sand. Bathed in the golden light of sunset, the scene contrasts natural beauty with human detachment. The doll becomes a haunting symbol of future generations, neglected, unseen, and voiceless amid our modern distractions. It reflects our failure to look up and acknowledge the fragile state of our world and the responsibility we hold. Sustainability is not only about resources, it’s about presence, care, and foresight. This photograph is a quiet but urgent question: if we don’t turn our attention now, who will sustain what remains?Camera type: Hybrid. This image was submitted to the Ngā Ara Whetū | Centre for Climate, Biodiversity and Society photograph exhibition Woven Worlds: Research, Art and Sustainability, part of the 2025 Auckland Festival of Photography. The exhibition was displayed at ProjectSpace, Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland, 9-15 June 2025.