THE PASSAGE OF STORMS
BY GAB MEJIA
After enduring Super Typhoon Rai (locally known as ‘Odette’) in 2021, the Philippines grapples with the aftermath, highlighting the nation’s vulnerability to frequent typhoons. The emotional toll on coastal communities is profound, questioning the gods they turn to for salvation amid a cyclic system of destruction and reconstruction. The Passage of Storms captures the scars left by super typhoons, serving as a visual elegy and documentary to the forgotten lives in a sea that remembers.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Gab Mejia is a queer Filipino photographer, author, and environmental engineer. He explores and weaves the different fabrics of visual storytelling, and ecological design through the arts, photography, and pedagogical research. His work focuses on the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, indigenous knowledge, spirituality, and the intersectionality of culture and nature for socio-environmental justice, policy engagement, science-based programming, and organizational consultancy. Mejia is a National Geographic Explorer and Fellow in the International League of Conservation Photographers, and has shared stories in National Geographic, CNN, Mongabay, WWF, Vogue Philippines, The Manila Times, among other publications and platforms. He continues to explore alternative narratives and depictions of the oneness of humanity in nature — hoping to gain a deeper understanding of our shared yet fraught relationship with the environment and of ourselves.
