The Beginning is the End and the End is the Beginning

Abstract

On 9 April 2021, La Soufrière, the volcano in the main island in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, began to erupt explosively, forcing approximately 22,440 people in the north of the island to evacuate to the south. As the ash rained down, the landscape typically known for its lush greens and blues became muted and desaturated. The images selected for this photo essay were taken from a powerboat, with friends on board, during the first series of explosive eruptions that occurred that day. They are merely a snapshot of the larger project—The Beginning is the End and the End is the Beginning—which is an attempt to unlearn the aesthetics of photography and the politics of the image in the midst of catastrophe. The entire series focuses on exploring intimacy in physical spaces during catastrophes, and in the case of La Soufrière, the photographer’s relationships with kin and friends during the crisis. Further, the series hopes to examine the impact of ashfall on the terrestrial, coastal, and submarine environments, as well as the built environment.