We have all processed the horrific events of 9/11 in our own ways. We certainly can remember where we were when we heard the news and how it impacted those we knew and loved in New York and Washington, but also those we didn’t know. Manhattan-born photographer Carla Shapiro processed her own grief through a powerful project that allowed her to connect intimately with each person lost to the event.

After receiving her BFA from Syracuse University, Carla has created bodies of work about woman, aging, 9/11, beauty and decay for the past 25 years. She has received awards The Center for Photography at Woodstock, The Golden Light Awards at Maine Photographic Workshops, New Jersey Council on the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, (2 times), NYFA SOS Grant, The O’Conner Foundation and Pratt Institute. Carla teaches at Pratt Institute and lives in upstate New York.

Obituaries to Prayer Flags: Four hours a day for five months I hand copied from the New York Times 2500 obituaries from 9/11. I hung each hand written piece of paper in lines across the stream in my yard to weather away as the sun faded the writing and the rain and snow washed it away. The words faded little by little as I photographed this installation to tell a story of “Obituaries to Prayer Flags”.

blowing in the wind

smoke

wet

17 wisp of sno

black tears

dripping light

reflection in water

spider print

wet print

clothes pins