Hurricane Ike – Images from the Debris Field

By Peter Nitsch | October 24th, 2011 | Discuss

I just want to leave these images by fine art photographer Richard Allen Ashmore with his very own statement: “By training, I am a geologist and paleontologist. I have always a fascination with the expanse of geologie time and the physical and biological evolution of the landscape. Nearly twenty years ago, I began making technical photographs to illustrate scientific papers and presentations and began studying and making artistic and social documentary photographs in the last several years. With interests in science, art, and culture, I am attracted toward developing projects that reside at their intersection. During the Fall of 2008 while studying the effects of Hurricane Ike along the Texas and Louisiana coasts, I noticed how the pulverized fragments of homes and lives lost revealed by the view of the overall damage and destruction was muted by the stories told by the individual pieces of debris and the collective story they produced as a whole. Surrounded only by objects resilient enought to withstand nature at its most extreme. I began thinking about what physical traces of our culture might remain for societies in the distant future to unearth and study. What biased conclusions will they draw about us based on the fragmented cultural record that will remain? … Like documenting artifacts at an archaeological site, I photographed hundreds of undisturbed debris objects. By adding only factual descriptive text to document the discovery of each item, these photographs present a unique view of ourselves and the story we are destined to leave behind.”

You can find more images from the debris field here. ❚

About Peter Nitsch

Peter Nitsch has written 382 articles on this blog.

Designer, Photographer and co-founder of “Playboard Magazine” and "get addicted to ...", has won several international awards both as a designer and photographer.

• View all posts by Peter Nitsch →
• WWW
• Twitter