GOING AWAY FROM HERE

— Archival Color Prints—

“Going Away from Here” is a collection of images that shed light upon the concern of ongoing land loss; and consequently, the destruction of all the things that make a community unique; while asking the viewer to take notice and think about how will we decide who and what is worth saving?

I have spent the last four years photographing Tangier Island off the coast of Virginia in the Chesapeake Bay which is progressively being claimed by the waters surrounding it an average of nine acres every year. Predicted to be one of America’s first “climate change refugees,” the residents will be forced to evacuate, and we will lose an entire culture of people as unique as their dialect. Today, the island sits only 3 feet above sea level, 1¼ miles wide by 3 miles long. Upon arrival by boat, it is hard to see the island off in the distance. Having few trees left, the only marker from the bay is the water tower of Tangier which has a crab on one side and a cross on the other. This deeply religious island has already been split by the Bay’s waters, which now seep up through the ground below. Simple tasks like docking your boat are becoming more and more impossible. Watermen have to tie up their boats to poles in order to prevent their boats from floating away at high tide. With erosion, the plants, trees, and protective grasses for wildlife are washing away as well. Cemeteries are overcrowded due to a lack of space to bury their dead. Tombstones and bodies are now being placed on the front lawns of loved ones’ homes more inland.

 The people of Tangier have received attention from Al Gore, Donald Trump, and national media outlets, but the conversation of future implications still needs to be had. These photographs and fine-artist books shed light upon what is at stake when losing a place. Tangier is not alone and sadly tells the tale many low-lying cities around the world are facing in the next 80 years. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Miami, Atlantic City, New Orleans, Galveston, Charleston, and Virginia Beach will all be underwater by 2100. My hope with this project is to inform viewers of the need to take notice now, and to think about how will we decide who and what is worth saving? And, who are we willing to let wash away into the water?