photo of house after katrina. no walls, no windows
man with hammer
stamped text: lost. handwritten text: i lost my home, i lost my family, i lost my job, i lost my father, i lost my mind a little
close-up photo of a sad young woman's face. red jacket
boy walking on tracks away from camera
photo of interior of damaged home. just frame, insulation
photo of elder woman in green dress sitting on stuffed chair
stamped text: found. handwritten text: i found strength, i found that prayers do work.
photo of young man sitting on his roof, looking down
photo of boy in pajamas, lying on bed, looking at camera, unsmiling
wide photo of young man standing on the roof of a house
illustration of a family tree by mati mcdonald
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Lost Island

A film by the Morris Family and Amanda Herman

Lost Island explores the intricacies of one family's experience with Hurricane Katrina. I met the Morris' in Oakland, California while doing free family portraits for hurricane evacuees at a relief day in October 2005, a month after Katrina drove them from their home in Chalmette, Louisiana. I established a strong relationship with Tish Morris, a matriarchal figure in the Morris family and we decided to work on a film about her family’s loss and survival. The flooding and failed citywide evacuation in New Orleans left Tish and her family (eleven members aged 4–70) trapped in their apartment. In the film they tell of their escape, forced separation, eventual rescue and long journey to reunite in California. Set in the remains of their New Orleans home and at their present home in Oakland, the film focuses on the residual dreams, memories and trauma of each family member. During the making of the film I asked the Morris' to draw pictures of their most vivid memories, write lists of what they had lost and found, and identify dreams and memories to act out for the camera. My hope is that the creative process of making this film activated a process of remembering, reflection, documentation, and healing. This is a record of one family’s story within a larger story of a population—largely along racial and economic lines—who were left behind during a historic natural disaster. Lost Island is a memorial to the Morris family’s experience.The film was shown in a free neighborhood outdoor screening in Oakland and the project was exhibited as my MFA show and at the Patricia Sweetow Gallery in San Francisco, CA.