Rontherin Ratliff is a New Orleans native artist. His piece titled, “Things That Float,” was created after the flooding of New Orleans’ ninth ward. He took a raft through his grandmother’s neighborhood and saw the destruction to the houses firsthand done by the flooding, all he could recover were a few pictures and other things that were able to find the surface. Ratliff created houses to resemble those of his grandmother and her neighbors and included clear basements where the pictures could be displayed. The exhibition, held at the NOLA Contemporary Arts Center, gave the effect of floating through the destroyed houses. The viewer is intended to feel as though they are on the raft as Ratliff was, discovering objects left behind and scattered just as Ratliff did. 

This piece is a reminder of the physical destruction New Orleans saw as much as it is a placeholder for the sentimental objects lost in the flooding.

Learn more through this NPR article regarding Ratliff’s work as well as on Ratliff’s website.