Swimming to Inishkeel Homeless Deaths |
KATRINA A Tale of Two Cities The Lost Year The Long Corridor The Forgotten CIty A Tale of Two Cities, my most recent Katrina project is a collaboration with Cork artist Harry Moore and examined the unprecedented changes occurring in both New Orleans and Cork. Cork in 2006 was in the midst of the economic boom and Katrina had just hit New Orleans the previous summer destroying 80% of the city. Harry’s work was already questioning the wisdom of the rapid and somewhat reckless development that was sweeping Cork especially the docks where warnings of flooding had been ignored by developers. I spent time in Cork in 2007 and Harry came over in 2008 to learn more about Post-Katrina New Orleans. Harry, using pinhole technology photographed the bridges of Cork, always when the river levels were at their lowest revealing the tide lines on the stone and metalwork, reminiscent of the New Orleans dwellings. Long exposure times of up to 40 minutes removed any images of people and movement from the photographs. photographed elevated homes as they were being rebuilt. Each photograph was printed and then the homeowner wrote his or her story in the sky around and above their home. The stories take us from Hurricane Katrina to the present, with each resident focusing on the aspects of rebuilding and recovery that affected them the most. |
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