Go down to a river side and you might expect to find boats moored up, a few ducks floating by and seagulls looking for prey.... but not photo portraits of local people submerged in cages.
However, photographer Ruth Leach hit on the apparently zany idea of putting 20 photos in the River Deben at Woodbridge for a month as part of an exhibition to highlight the growing problem of river pollution.
The images, which include artists and musicians, have now been retrieved from the water and will be displayed as part of the Faces of Woodbridge exhibition at Artspace in Woodbridge from 18-23 February.
As a regular open water swimmer and kayaker on the river, she noticed a ‘brown, frothy scum’ on the surface of the water and had the idea for the photography project to try and raise awareness of the state of rivers in the UK.
“Basically, I have done something that I didn’t feel happy with, putting them into the water, submerging faces of people that I know and respect, but I felt that if it opened up conversations about water quality and what we can do about it, I thought it would be worthwhile,” she added.
Another aim of the project is to raise awareness of a seagrass planting project that she hopes would improve water quality.
“I wanted to see how we impact the river and how the river impacts us. We know that the river can impact our riverside homes and so I wanted to explore both of these themes by doing something completely different and completely outrageous,” Mrs Leach said.
To achieve these objectives, she placed the photos in a cage, securing them with a hook and dropped them into a wreck that was subject to tidal currents, where they would be encased in mud and explored by the river life.
The Woodbridge resident runs a studio portrait business, Ruth Leach Photography and swims with Deben and Orwell Bluetits.
“While I realise that it is controversial, I thought that if I could make conversations happen and raise awareness of river pollution, then it is making a difference,” she added.
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