Artist: Virginia Hanusik 

Project: Backwater

Description: In her ongoing project Backwater, Virginia Hanusik examines how coastal communities respond and adapt to land loss on what the artist calls “the frontline of climate change”—specifically in Southeast Louisiana, which is experiencing sea-level rise faster than anywhere in the world, losing a football-field-size worth of land every hour. “The sites along the coast that I document convey a landscape of hope, irony, and neglect,” Hanusik writes. “The region itself is a microcosm of preservation and destruction. Homes, commercial buildings, roads, and street signs tell the story of a place with a vibrant past yet highly uncertain future as encroaching water threatens its very existence.”

Eyes on the South is curated by Jeff Rich. The weekly series features selections of current work from Southern artists, or artists whose photography concerns the South. To submit your work to the series, email Jeff at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.