THINGS THAT FLOAT•2012

Using elements of discarded building materials dismantled furniture, and salvaged family photographs I share, with you, memorable moments of my Katrina story and what it is to know loss. 
Given the opportunity to evacuate, curiosity overcame fear and I opted to stay and seek refuge in a friends Central Business District building. On the night of August 29th, the levees broke and the following morning, I ventured out to capture the destruction from a spectator’s perspective.  My wandering and exploring naturally led me to the ninth ward, where I call home and where my grandmother’s house has been for generations. To my surprise, my attempt to look in on and after my grandmothers' house would not prove successful.  That day, in my neighborhood, I was faced with the rising water of a flooding city for the first time. Unable to swim and waters too high to bike through, I had no choice but to turn around. The next day, I returned in a raft, paddling and photographing my way to my grandmother’s house, only to realize the things that float.  Houses had become prisoners to gravity, as they had filled up with water.  Inside, large heavy pieces of furniture floated about freely while seemingly weightless photographs lay buried below the surface.