Arko Datto: Where do we go when the final wave hits

Between 2017 and 2020, Indian photographer Arko Datto documented the dwindling mangrove forests and rising water levels of the Sundarbans in India, where 300 million inhabitants of the delta experience the daily nightmare of climate change - people who are least responsible for it,
but feel its effects the most.

Recognition:
-> Shortlisted for Arles Photobook Awards 2026

Using harsh flash photography at night, Datto creates a surreal, unsettling atmosphere that perfectly encapsulates the festival theme: the fragile existence of communities whose power is waning in the face of the climate crisis, while documenting their struggle for survival and dignity.

This publication has been made on the occasion of Arko Datto's exhibition "Where do we go when the final wave hits" at Leipzig Photobook Festival 2026.

Softcover, handmade binding
Dipped in muddy water
15 x 30 cm, 48 pages
Edition of 150 handmade copies

24.00 Euro

“And where is it, this place?” “That’s the point, it is nowhere. […]"

"But your eyes - they’re beautiful. They’re wild, crazy, like some animal peering out of a forest on fire.” – Charles Bukowski

It's humid and hot and sweaty, and the bubble we're in is wobbly and the reality is shifted.