Photo Exhibit Draws Thousands Of Personal Pictures Detailing Sandy’s Wrath

As the year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy draws closer, it is natural that people are looking back at the storm that changed so many lives and caused so much damage. The Epoch Times is reporting that the International Center of Photography (ICP) in collaboration with the Museum of the City of New York  is putting together a special exhibit of Sandy-related photographs culled from thousands of submissions from New Yorkers.

Everyone living in the path of Sandy’s wake last year has a story to tell, but many times a picture tells more than words ever can. I was living in Midwood at the time, in a big brick apartment building on Ocean Avenue. As the wind howled, and the trees outside my window shook violently all night, I was stunned how my power never went out. I was incredibly lucky and also amazed the next morning to see all of the bodegas in my area open selling food and other supplies. Still, I found myself snapping pictures of cars crushed by fallen tree limbs all along the streets of Midwood.

Not everyone was so fortunate, and, for many, smashed cars were the least of their worries. The Epoch Times described the large volume of pictures submitted, which detail the mass destruction to homes and communities, and how they will be displayed:

Respondents sent in over 5,000 entries. In this exhibit, 100 works by more than 90 professional photographers, New York and New Jersey residents, and bystanders document the wrathful waters, the dashed-apart houses, and the ongoing recovery.

The photos are not framed for formal presentation. Instead, they are printed on letter-size sheets of photo paper and tacked to cracking, white walls. Unaccompanied by explanatory text, each photo stands for a moment of unedited human response to the force of nature. Together, they look like Sandy survivors’ collective scrapbook.

The exhibit, which is free, has been open since August 24 and runs until the end of September. Here are the relevant details:

Rising Waters: Photographs of Hurricane Sandy
Governors Island, Building 19, Nolan Park
Aug. 24–Sept. 29, Saturdays and Sundays, 12–6 p.m.
www.icp.org; admission is free