Stephen Wilkes: In Katrina’s Wake: Restoring a Sense of Place

In Katrina’s Wake: Restoring a Sense of Place, Photographs by Stephen Wilkes

In Katrina's Wake: Restoring a Sense of Place, an exhibition of 26 photographs by acclaimed photographer Stephen Wilkes that tells the stories of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and the Holy Cross neighborhood of New Orleans' Ninth Ward—two communities united by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and their struggle to restore their lives. Through poignant portraits of survivors and haunting images of architectural details, Wilkes' images also highlight WMF's ongoing efforts to preserve the Gulf Coast's vibrant architectural heritage.

Stephen Wilkes' work attempts to reclaim and give voice to forgotten places and people. His most recent series, In Katrinaís Wake: Restoring a Sense of Place, portrays the victims of two devastated Gulf Coast communitiesóBay St. Louis, Mississippi, and the Holy Cross neighborhood of New Orleansí Ninth Wardóand their struggle to restore their lives, homes and the social fabric of their communities.

In creating a visual story that bears witness to the severity of this American tragedy, Wilkes hopes to focus attention on the ongoing issues of Katrina, and to encourage those who have left the area to consider returning to re-establish the singular cultural heritage of their native towns. The photographs offer a metaphorical framework through which to understand the present tense results of the 2005 disaster, as well as offering the possibility and hope that reclamation is still possible. http://subjectmattersexhibitions.com/exhibition_info.php?id=30

Carolyn Parker on Porch, Holy Cross, 2006

Presented in conjunction with PhotoNOLA 2011, this exhibition tells the stories of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and the Holy Cross neighborhood of New Orleans’s Ninth Ward—two historic communities united by disaster and the struggle to preserve their heritage and rebuild the social fabric that is integral to their neighborhoods. In the spring and summer of 2006, photographer Stephen Wilkes documented the damage wrought by Katrina in these two areas. He also photographed and recorded the stories of the people committed to rescuing the past for the future of their historic communities.
In Katrina’s Wake: Restoring a Sense of Place,

Photographs by Stephen WilkesDecember 8, 2011–March 3, 2012
Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street

http://www.hnoc.org/?p=3180