Florida
Okeechobee, Florida - 2026

Every state in America has its own unique
characteristics that shape outsiders’
perceptions: New York is the world’s
business epicenter; Texas has cowboys
and oil; whilst Alaska is the final frontier.
Our cognitive processing tends to elicit
visual symbolisms that are consensual -
mention the word “Nevada” and we think
of gambling in a desert.
But Florida is more complicated. It
cannot be conveniently categorised or
boxed. On the coast is Miami, with its
tourist beaches, Art Deco, influencers,
pop culture and Hispanic soul. Then up
the road is Palm Beach with its genteel
“Slim Aarons” high-society life of golf,
tennis, bridge and cocktails.
The two communities could not be
more different in culture and ethnicity.
They only have two things in common:
favourable taxes and proximity to
America’s Jurassic Park - an untamed
territory that remains primeval and
largely closed for business. The swamps
of Florida were not made for human life,
yet they sit within 30 miles of two of the
most evolved and desirable places to
live in the world. It is as stark a visual
dislocation as there can be.
In no part of America does the price
of real estate fall quicker than when
travelling west from the Atlantic beaches
of southern Florida. There are too many
insects and far too many dangerous
reptiles for sane mankind.
The emblematic beast of Florida is the
alligator and for the 56,000 students at
the University of Florida, life would be
different if “Gators” did not exist. The
big gators in the swamps are formidable
adversaries.
This photograph was only captured after
considerable research and conversations
with those familiar with the location. The
camera was controlled remotely, and no
one was in danger during this project.
Alligators are much more comfortable
living in this part of Florida than humans
will ever be.
If Florida was fictional, we would laugh at
its absurdity. And yet it is very real.