I read one man’s opinion recently that it would be impossible to capture this time and place in a painting, and I have to say, I agree. It is too vast, too devastating and too unfathomable to fit within the edges of a canvas. But at the same time, an event so monumental begs to be recorded, interpreted, and observed, and so I have done my part.

For the past five months, I lived in a tent in St. Bernard Parish working as a volunteer in a free kitchen. I include this because the entirety of this body of work was inspired by and born out of this experience. The evidence of Katrina is everywhere in St. Bernard. Daily, I was surrounded by the haunting images of destroyed homes, abandoned boats, piles of debris and upside down cars. Cryptic crosses filled with numbers and letters tell stories of searches and body counts, and the dingy water line is a constant reminder of the flood. And then there are the stories. Everyone here has one, and they usually involve rising water, oil spills, waiting on rooftops for help, rescue boats and bus rides to unknown places. These images and stories have become a part of me, and I hope to have captured even a moment of this unfolding story in these paintings.

My heart goes out to all the people I have had the pleasure of knowing in this southern place and to all the people who call it home. A percentage of all sales from this work will be donated to Emergency Communities, the non-profit organization I had the honor of being a part of with the most loving group of people I have ever known.

Shannon Bowley

April, 2006

Arabi, Louisiana