Shelbey Leco swimming with her grandfather Vincent Leco’s handmade trawling net. Her family, originally from the Philippines, hunted, trapped and fished in what was known as Manilla Village.

Artist statement for the King Tides series:
King Tides, a photographic and mixed media exhibition by Michel Varisco, describes a future where high tides have overtaken the land due to industrial and political kings who ignored the signs of the Anthropocene. King Tides are the highest tides. When the moon is closest to the earth and when the earth, moon, and sun are in alignment, this is when the gravitational pull is strongest. But what happens when the King tides are ever more frequent—or even continual—regardless of the alignment of celestial bodies? 
 
In the series King Tides, Varisco uses magical realism as a strategy to address the rising sea level. Working with subjects who are living in threatened areas like New Orleans—a floodable bowl well below sea level—she fast forwards to 30 years from now to when the National Oceanic Administration predicted New Orleans would be perpetually 4-5 feet underwater. During this time, she imagines a thalassic colony adapting to a life underwater brought on by self-imposed kings who disregarded science in favor of profit. Like the extinction of so many creatures around them, they live at a time of sinking lands, rising seas, melting glaciers, and the general disinvestment in public good. 
 
She states: “what begins as concern lifts us out of our existential free-fall, and temporarily allows us to breathe deeply when we come up for air to find a new center of gravity. When curiosity engages people in conversation about these issues, it can become an ecological-intervention sometimes leading to decisions to live more thoughtfully with nature. Or, at the very least, to learn to swim and bring a talisman with them underwater, as many of these individuals chose to do. In King Tides, we breathe out like alligators, releasing air slowly, methodically reserving energy for essentials. We float, sink, swim, dive, and stilt walk from our underwater perches.” 
 

Series statement by Michel Varisco:

King Tides, a photographic and mixed media exhibition by Michel Varisco, describes a future where high tides have overtaken the land due to industrial and political kings who ignored the signs of the Anthropocene. King Tides are the highest tides. When the moon is closest to the earth and when the earth, moon, and sun are in alignment, this is when the gravitational pull is strongest. But what happens when the King tides are ever more frequent—or even continual—regardless of the alignment of celestial bodies? 
 
In the series King Tides, Varisco uses magical realism as a strategy to address the rising sea level. Working with subjects who are living in threatened areas like New Orleans—a floodable bowl well below sea level—she fast forwards to 30 years from now to when the National Oceanic Administration predicted New Orleans would be perpetually 4-5 feet underwater. During this time, she imagines a thalassic colony adapting to a life underwater brought on by self-imposed kings who disregarded science in favor of profit. Like the extinction of so many creatures around them, they live at a time of sinking lands, rising seas, melting glaciers, and the general disinvestment in public good. 
 
She states: “what begins as concern lifts us out of our existential free-fall, and temporarily allows us to breathe deeply when we come up for air to find a new center of gravity. When curiosity engages people in conversation about these issues, it can become an ecological-intervention sometimes leading to decisions to live more thoughtfully with nature. Or, at the very least, to learn to swim and bring a talisman with them underwater, as many of these individuals chose to do. In King Tides, we breathe out like alligators, releasing air slowly, methodically reserving energy for essentials. We float, sink, swim, dive, and stilt walk from our underwater perches.” 
 

This object was included in the following exhibitions:

• Metamorphoses: Highlights from the Permanent Collection , 7/25/2022 - 12/19/2022

This object is a member of the following portfolios: