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Clay damage from Irma in coming MOCA exhibit

Clay Today
Posted 8/15/18

JACKSONVILLE – Photographer Gideon Mendel captured the devastation in Northeast Florida of Hurricane Irma in 2017, and this month he returns to the region for Gideon Mendel: Drowning World an …

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Clay damage from Irma in coming MOCA exhibit


Posted

JACKSONVILLE – Photographer Gideon Mendel captured the devastation in Northeast Florida of Hurricane Irma in 2017, and this month he returns to the region for Gideon Mendel: Drowning World an exhibition of his work that explores the personal impact of climate change within a global context.

This multimedia exhibition will be the first time that images from Irma will be on view in conversation with images from floods across the world. At least two photographs in the exhibit includes a family from Middleburg whose home along Black Creek was destroyed.

Mendel and the family from Northeast Florida captured in the images will be reunited at an Aug. 30 opening reception at MOCA Jacksonville.

“The impact of the flooding during Hurricane Irma is still fresh for many in our community,” said Caitlín Doherty, MOCA director. “This exhibition is an opportunity for our city to take a moment to reflect together on how our story fits into the global story of climate change.”

The Drowning World project began in 2007, when Mendel photographed two floods that occurred within weeks of each other – one in the United Kingdom and the other in India. Deeply struck by the contrasting impacts of these floods and the vulnerability that united their victims, Mendel continued to visit and photograph flood zones throughout the world, including places such as Haiti, Pakistan, India, Thailand, Nigeria and the United Kingdom. He has focused on the Drowning World art and advocacy project and his personal response to climate change for more than a decade.

In 2017, Hurricane Irma, one of the strongest hurricanes on record, ravaged the state of Florida. Jacksonville and the surrounding areas were profoundly affected by the fierce winds rain and severe flooding. The impact is still felt today within the region. In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Irma, Mendel visited Jacksonville and the Northeast Florida region to photograph members of the Northeast Florida community, to hear their stories, and to capture images that shed light on their individual experiences.

“Art as a vehicle for advocacy is a powerful tool. The timing of this exhibition during hurricane season is intentional,” says Doherty. “Every year the southern United States braces itself for natural disaster during storm season, and Mendel’s work challenges us to remember that we are not alone.”

Mendel has exhibited in group and solo exhibitions around the world including the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University, and more recently at the Kyotographie International Photography Festival in Kyoto, Japan.