Yesterday, I finally had the opportunity to go back to Six Flags New Orleans, and have several images I’m going to be working on to get online soon. It’s been 14 months, and while I feel slightly naive thinking it couldn’t change that much, it doesn’t surprise me just how much has changed. I mean, it’s an abandoned theme park that people venture into on what I’ve got to think is a daily basis.
What surprised me was how certain scenes had changed so dramatically. One of my well-known images, “The Cool Zone”, looks nothing like it did before. In fact, I passed it up before realizing I didn’t see it and had to nearly look for it. The big cement table that once sat in front of it was gone, and the big blue/green metallic ball that sat in front of it had been relocated on the other side of the park.
I saw some other things that just puzzled me…the bumper car that was left in a section of grass (probably 50 yards away from where it used to be), the chair hanging from a metal wire inside the theater, and the giant clown head that had been torn into a thousand pieces…to name a few. The city is in the process of negotiating with a developer to refurbish the rides and turn it into an upscale outlet mall with rides. Personally, I don’t see it being all that successful at all.
Each time I see in the news some plans or suggestions for the site, I get a little sentimental, secretly wishing that nothing comes of it and it stays in its current state…trapped in time. I was drawn to Six Flags New Orleans after seeing this incredible video back in late 2010, and it has sense become a beacon of creativity for me…my muse. It sparked inspiration for my Katrina Leftovers series of work that I started in February 2011, and have big plans for.
I’ll be working on my images from yesterday’s shoot this week, and hope to have something to share very soon.
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