The NOLA Flag Project

I arrived in New Orleans in 2007, a little more than a year after Hurricane Katrina, and though I had visited here pre-Katrina several times, my experiences and impressions of living in this magical city were shaped by the new kind of social and spiritual zeitgeist that was a city in recovery and revival: coming to terms with what was lost and negotiating the changes to come. 

 Late in 2010–upon the 5-year anniversary of that disaster–New Orleans and the Gulf Coast were faced with another tragedy, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.  And though this one affected most in the city in a way that was more indirect and less traumatic than Katrina, it made me reflect on the resilience and stubborn will of the denizens of this town. 

All models were approached at random, in various neighborhoods around the city, and asked to pose with the American flag.  There were no other instructions.  They were free to do with it whatever they pleased, save damaging or destroying it – it seemed important that the entire project was shot using the same flag.

This series was inspired, in many ways, by street portraits I made in 2006 to make up The Globe Project. You can check it out here.