Paul D’Amato photographs the spontaneous communities that form around water when temperatures rise.
A sidewalk fire hydrant, a riverbank, a garden hose: wherever water appears on a hot day, people gather. For over 30 years, Paul D’Amato has sought out these moments of shared relief in Chicago, Maine and Mexico, capturing the exuberant rituals that emerge when heat drives people outdoors.
The photographs focus largely on working-class communities, where public water becomes what D’Amato calls “the no-money pleasure” of summer. Yet the series, titled Water for the People, is less about hardship than about what it creates: play, flirtation, daring, laughter and the joy of being together.
Children race through spray, teenagers leap from bridges and neighbors linger in the cooling mist, turning streets, waterways and even wading pools into temporary commons.
Stripped of specific references that could date them, the images often feel ageless. “When you go out in the water, you’re not bringing your phone,” D’Amato notes.
At a moment when climate extremes and social isolation can feel oppressive, D’Amato offers a different story. It’s one in which relief is collective, joy is shared and the human impulse to gather around water remains as universal as ever.
Focused on the wonderful world of rewilding, Volume 5 sees us get into the weeds – and go beyond the ferns – with our green-thumbed cover star Zach Galifianakis, walk with wolves in Slovenia, create a wilder world in Denmark, find meaning in fashion, and much, much more.
