Collin Richie, “Brandon and Dara,” from Faces of the Flood series, August 2016. Courtesy Collin Richie.

On exhibit: Faces of the Flood

LASM, June 14-September 3

 

When photographer Collin Richie set out on an inRegister assignment a few days after the floods of last August, he had no idea where his camera would take him. “I realized there were thousands of individual stories around a mass event,” Richie recalls. “I was inspired and wanted to record all that I could.”

Richie—along with fellow photographers Frank McMains, David Morris, Kristin Basilica and Dan Jones—began documenting how the flooding had impacted real people and their families. “Almost everyone was willing to share one of the most intimate moments of their lives with us, and it was humbling,” Richie says.

The photographs quickly caught the attention of major media outlets around the world, and they will return to the public eye again this month in a new exhibit at the Louisiana Art & Science Museum. As in inRegister’s September 2016 cover story, most photos on display will be accompanied by direct quotes from the subjects themselves.

“This exhibition is about hope and survival,” says LASM curator Elizabeth Weinstein. “One year later, we are still assessing the damage done by the flood, and many are still rebuilding. Yet these portraits show us how far we have come.”

To provide background and place the pictures in context, the show will also feature weather broadcast footage and front-page newspaper reprints from before, during and after the floods. Personal flood-related photos submitted by the public will play on a monitor, and there will be a space for visitors to post thank-you notes to people who helped them during or after the flood.

In conjunction with the exhibition, an Art After Hours event on June 15 will feature an informal gallery talk with the photographers and some of their subjects.

“It is my hope that everyone who views it will leave proud,” says Weinstein.“Proud of themselves for surviving and proud of the many people who took the time to reach out and help.”