The coast of the United States is undergoing a transformation due to sea level rise and erosion that challenges the patterns of development from the past century.
Nowhere is this change as rapidly apparent as the Gulf Coast, particularly Louisiana where decades of manipulating the Mississippi River, the expansion of the oil and gas industries, and invisible policies such as flood insurance have exacerbated the impacts of climate change. As more land becomes open water, the maps and borders created to designate ownership and identity become blurred.
The exhibition Periphery by photographer Virginia Hanusik explores ways of building in this liminal space of the coastal zone as boundaries are in flux and the limits of infrastructure are challenged. The exhibition is an effort to encourage thinking of South Louisiana—and coastal communities around the country—as an interconnected system rather than as separate and expendable landscapes.
Visits between March 23 and June 3 by appointment. To book a visit, please send an email to info@mascontext.com with your preferred date and time.
RELATED EVENTS
Thursday, March 23, 2023, 6–8PM
Opening reception with Virginia Hanusik
Monday, April 10, 2023, 6PM
Engineering Ecosystems: The Mississippi River Watershed and its Infrastructure
Lecture by Virginia Hanusik and Derek Hoeferlin
Thursday, May 11, 2023, 12PM
Floodplain Futures: Flood Insurance and the Economy of Climate Change
Lecture by Rebecca Elliot, Virginia Hanusik, and Alice Liu
A selection of five prints from the exhibition are available for sale. 10% of the proceeds will be donated to Louisiana Just Recovery Network. For more information about the prints, please email hello@virginiahanusik.com.
Where the Mississippi River Meets the Gulf of Mexico, Port Eads, 2020. © Virginia Hanusik.
Route 1 over Leeville, 2021. © Virginia Hanusik.
Powerlines over Lake Pontchartrain, 2022. © Virginia Hanusik.
Houseboat on Lake Maurepas, 2021. © Virginia Hanusik.
Houseboat near Route 55, 2021. © Virginia Hanusik.
EXHIBITION CREDITS
Exhibition organized by MAS Context.
Printing by James Florio Photography.
Thanks to Ken Byron, Brad Bloecher, and Julie Michiels for the assistance during the installation of the exhibition.
PRESS
Allyn West, “Lifted,” Architect's Newspaper, May 10, 2023.
Vasia Rigou, “Design Top 5: April 2023,” Newcity Design, March 29, 2023.
Vasia Rigou, “Eco-Anxiety Through a Cultural Lens: A Review of “Periphery” at MAS Context,” Newcity Design, May 10, 2023.
Periphery, MAS Context Reading Room, Chicago, 2023. © Dan Kelleghan Photography. Courtesy of MAS Context.
Periphery, MAS Context Reading Room, Chicago, 2023. © Dan Kelleghan Photography. Courtesy of MAS Context.
Periphery, MAS Context Reading Room, Chicago, 2023. © Dan Kelleghan Photography. Courtesy of MAS Context.
Periphery, MAS Context Reading Room, Chicago, 2023. © Dan Kelleghan Photography. Courtesy of MAS Context.
Periphery, MAS Context Reading Room, Chicago, 2023. © Dan Kelleghan Photography. Courtesy of MAS Context.
Periphery, MAS Context Reading Room, Chicago, 2023. © Dan Kelleghan Photography. Courtesy of MAS Context.
Periphery, MAS Context Reading Room, Chicago, 2023. © Dan Kelleghan Photography. Courtesy of MAS Context.
Periphery, MAS Context Reading Room, Chicago, 2023. © Dan Kelleghan Photography. Courtesy of MAS Context.
Flood Protection Authority Sign, London Avenue Canal, New Orleans, 2022. © Virginia Hanusik.
The Great Wall of Louisiana #2, 2022. © Virginia Hanusik.
SUGGESTED READINGS
Virginia Hanusik, “A Receding Coast,” MAS Context, 2019
mascontext.com/observations/a-receding-coast
Virginia Hanusik, “Liminal Frontier: Climate Adaptation and the American Coast,” MAS Context, 2019
mascontext.com/observations/liminal-frontier-climate-adaptation-and-the-american-coast
Virginia Hanusik, “Visualizing Disasters and an Ongoing Crisis,” MAS Context, 2020
mascontext.com/observations/visualizing-disasters-and-an-ongoing-crisis
Iker Gil, Virginia Hanusik, and Mimi Zeiger, “On the Origins of High Water,” MAS Context, 2022
mascontext.com/observations/on-the-origins-of-high-water
