Philadelphia-based photographer Lori Waselchuk has a new portfolio of work entitled Grace Before Dying on exhibition in Boston, in the Gallery of the Photographic Resource Center at Boston University, opening on May 17th, and up through July 10th, 2011.
Waselchuk will lecture on this work on May 19th, at 6 pm, in Room 206 of the Photonics Building at 8 St. Mary's Street, in Boston, with a Reception in the Gallery following the lecture, at 7:30, at 832 Commonwealth Avenue.
In this body of work, Waselchuk documents the Hospice Program at Angola, the Louisiana State Penitentiary. This Hospice Program brings dignity to dying in a prison environment designed to isolate and punish.
Run by one staff nurse and a team of prisoner volunteers, it has become nationally recognized for its transformative work among the thousands of prisoners who come to Angola to die.
There is an interview with Waselchuk HERE. You can learn more about Grace Before Dying HERE .
Even though Waselchuk is now based in Philadelphia, she continues to work in the South, building on her long career as a photographer in Louisiana, where she photographed the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita as well as life on New Orleans' North Clayborne Avenue.
Waselchuk does exceptionally strong work in the documentary tradition. Definitely worth checking out.