Interview with photographer Joe Habben, questions by Georgia Satchwell
La Laguna Resiste documents communities resisting social and natural erosion in the Venetian lagoon.
Annually, 30,000,000 visitors submerge the dwindling population of 50,000 inhabitants. Without a local population to safeguard this environment, it is likely to deteriorate.
The project explores three key interrelated issues: environmental breakdown, de-population and mass tourism by highlighting local inhabitants who are creating solutions and changes through various acts of community resistance. The photographic research amplifies the presence of Venice’s human and more-than-human inhabitants through a series of image-based interventions.
The project aims to engage and inform tourists, local decision-makers, and the wider public about these initiatives. It challenges the city’s postcard perspective and emphasises that Venice and the lagoon are interdependent elements of a single ecosystem.
Venezia è Laguna
How did your interest in documenting Venice and its community-lead associations develop?
In 2019, during the final year of my BA in Communication Design at the Glasgow School of Art, Scotland, I developed a profound interest in public space, particularly the intersecting and conflicting dynamics that shape it. These environments, in their fluid and contested nature, serve as reflections of the ephemeral social, economic, political, and cultural shifts that surround us.
While writing my dissertation, I explored various case studies examining the intense interactions between natural and built environments. It was during this research that I encountered the phenomenon of Acqua Alta in Venice, a natural tidal event that occurs annually, influenced by variables such as tidal changes, weather conditions, sea-level rise, land subsidence, and storm surges. During peak high tides, the streets and squares of Venice are filled with the brackish waters of the lagoon. Yet, Venice’s historical coexistence with its lagoon has led to architectural adaptations designed to mitigate these tidal fluctuations, with raised doorsteps, elevated counters, barriers on doorways, syphons, sandbags, and raised walkways.
In November 2019, I travelled to Venice to document these phenomena, but I arrived during what was to be the most extreme Acqua Alta since 1966. The tide peaked at 187 cm, submerging 85% of the city and leaving a trail of devastation for its inhabitants. Confronted with these circumstances, I realised the naivety of my initial intent. What began as an objective endeavour to capture human adaptations in response to fluctuating natural conditions quickly revealed a complex web of environmental, social, and political issues. I found myself grappling with a series of moral dilemmas, questioning my role as an observer and photographer. My aim was not to document trauma, but to study human resilience in urban landscapes shaped by nature.
Venice’s acqua alta is merely a symptom of the deeper, interconnected challenges the city faces, such as mass tourism, climate change, depopulation, urban expansion, accelerated by extraction and privatisation. However through this, I discovered the resilience of Venice, exemplified by the multitude of local community groups, initiatives, and organisations dedicated to tackling these complex problems. The power, influence, and perseverance of these groups have profoundly inspired me, demonstrating their potential to mobilise others facing similar challenges. In 2023, this inspiration led to the creation of the ‘La Laguna Resiste’ project, which aims to amplify the visibility of these groups and inspire, educate, and inform others through image-based interventions in the public spaces of Venice.
How do you think your work may influence public perception to view human and more-than-human life entanglements anew?
When we imagine Venice, we often picture the iconic imagery of the ‘floating city’, gondolas, canals, opulent palazzos suspended above water. Yet, this romanticised view is a reflection of an anthropocentric mindset, focusing solely on the city as a cultural spectacle while disregarding its complex ecological context. The main island, occupying a mere 7.6km², is just a fragment of the vast 550km² lagoon. Two interdependent elements of a single system. Despite its proximity, the lagoon is overlooked, reduced to a scenic backdrop rather than a living, dynamic environment. Due to environmental exploitation and industrial expansion, the lagoon is critically threatened. The Barene (salt marshes) are pivotal indicators of the lagoon’s health, serving as habitats for diverse flora and fauna while functioning as natural flood barriers. Yet, these marshlands are rapidly eroding due to human intervention and rising sea levels.
La Laguna Resiste is both a wordplay and a call to action. As the Barene resist the rising tides and escalating environmental threats, so do the lagoon’s human communities. The project captures the shared resilience and struggle of both human and more-than-human inhabitants, aligning our experiences, whilst reinforcing our interconnectedness within this fragile ecosystem.
So far, the project has facilitated a dialogue with various groups resisting social, cultural and natural erosion, these include Associazione Poveglia per Tutti, Comitato No Grandi Navi, Assemblea Sociale per la Casa, We Are Here Venice, TOCIA! Cucina e Comunità, Microclima, and Estuar 1. Although each of these groups has their own intentions and values, they all share the common goal of protecting the lagoon. Documenting their actions, the project frames the communities within the context of the Lagoon rather than Venice, highlighting their true habitat. La Laguna Resiste intentionally avoids imagery of the built environment, instead focusing on the natural. This shift in perspective aims to foster new insights, dialogues and considerations. Recognizing the lagoon as more than just a backdrop to the city, but as a vital, dynamic living system is essential if we are to preserve Venice’s unique environment. Challenging the tourist gaze of the city by revealing alternative realities or ‘truths’, we can shift public perception and perhaps influence its future trajectory.
These approaches don’t solely apply to Venice but could be applied as a broader model. By positioning the lagoon as the protagonist over the city, La Laguna Resiste aims to celebrate the power of community, shift public perception of the landscape and our responsibility for its protection. This perspective promotes holistic environmental stewardship. Ultimately, engaging with the lagoon deepens our understanding of Venice’s ecology and underlines our reciprocal relationship with nature.
Has your project La Laguna Resiste & your practice as a photographer given you a new perspective/understanding on community?
La Laguna Resiste has transformed my understanding of community and its power. We need to view both human and more-than-human inhabitants as part of our community. Venice is a dynamic entity that not only endures but actively resists threats to its identity and existence.
Engagement has been a core principle of this project. Using participatory action research, I’ve been conscious in actively engaging in the actions of Venice, the lagoon, and its community.
Photography is a tool of engagement, but I’m acutely aware of the common trends where photographers extract images without understanding the communities they depict. I feel a deep responsibility to authentically reflect the sentiments, actions, and struggles of Venice’s inhabitants. Over the past year, I’ve built a strong network of comrades and friends who have been incredibly collaborative and welcoming. I’m committed to contributing to these communities and participating in their mobilisations. Often, I leave my camera behind during events and workshops to be more present and active. Interestingly, I’ve started taking fewer photos, only when it truly feels justified. The priority is showing up.
The community and the environment are so deeply entangled that without a strong local presence to advocate for the lagoon’s preservation, both the environment and the cultural fabric of Venice are at risk. Through the lens of this project, I’ve witnessed how community members are not just passive victims of these challenges. To exist in Venice is to resist. Every inhabitant is an activist in some shape or form, and I wanted to highlight that through this project. Resistance comes in many forms: blocking cruise ships in Fusina, conducting scientific surveys of salt marsh health, rewilding uninhabited islands in the lagoon or occupying privatised space.
What fascinates me about Venice is the sheer diversity of its communities, each tackling localised issues, environmental safeguarding, or decentralising power in unique ways. These groups also collaborate and support each other through solidarity. While “community” is often misused and tokenised by governments and organisations, these activists consistently show up in numbers to create positive change and in many cases, it works… An example being in 2021, cruise ships were banned from the Giudecca Canal thanks to years of collective action and campaigning from Comitato No Grandi Navi and its comrades.
La Laguna Resiste aims to celebrate community and engage tourists and decision-makers, challenging superficial perceptions of Venice and urging a deeper recognition of its residents and their efforts. This project reinforces community as a resilient, proactive force capable of fostering ecological and social sustainability in the face of adversity.
Joe Habben is a documentary photographer & communication designer from the UK.
Joe is interested in reciprocated relationships between the natural and built environment. His latest projects have explored human intervention, public space, globalisation and the climate crisis.
Through his commercial work he’s collaborated with a range of clients; from scientific organisations to grassroots initiatives, charities and slow-fashion brands.
Georgia Satchwell is an architectural researcher and designer from South Africa.