PhotoNOLA: Elise Kirk: Groundswell – LENSCRATCH

In Elise Kirk’s series, Groundswell, we are invited to the landscape of the Midwestern United States—a location bound to the flux and flow of the Missouri River. Her photographs depict a force of nature and its changing relationship with the area’s inhabitants. Among other things, I was fascinated by this work because of its portrayal of mutual vulnerability. The river represents an ecosystem susceptible to damage. And while it acts as a provider to local communities and economies, it also threatens to destroy. Though Elise’s work is regionally specific, it speaks to broader themes relating to our connection to the environment and the importance of serving as its caretaker.