Internationally acclaimed Miami-based photographer Anastasia Samoylova’s 47-piece exhibition, FloodZone, is now at its most extensive gallery showing at HistoryMiami Museum throughout the busy Miami art season.
This project is unique to the climate conversation; it reflects on the poetic realities of our uncertain landscapes exploring how we navigate these changes.
Samoylova, a Russian-American artist who moves between observational photography, studio practice, and installation, always questions how urban development affects human lives and behavior.
Photographed from 2016 to 2019, visitors of the HistoryMiami Museum will experience portraits of the concrete jungles that replace mangrove forests, wetlands, and farms embodied in lush color scapes.
The M Network sat down with Ana during her press preview to learn more about FloodZone.
Ana, can you share with us what inspired you to become a photographer?
“Back in Moscow, I studied Environmental Design and had to photograph my handmade 3D models for documentation. It was fascinating to see how photography could transform those utilitarian objects into real-looking spaces via careful framing and depth of field. So, initially, I pursued photography for its ability to communicate complex ideas in accessible ways.”
HistoryMiami is your largest exhibit to date, and it is in your hometown. What are some of the emotions you are feeling today?
“I am overwhelmed with joy at all of the support this work is receiving from an audience I care about deeply.”
Years of work have gone into curating this bold acclaimed stance on the notions of consumerism and environmentalism. You created an approach to capturing climate change in a new tone through the changing landscapes. How did you come to this moment in your creative process?
“After years of studio-based practice, where I worked with constructed still life photography and collages, I knew I wanted to approach this documentary work differently, by avoiding the stereotypes associated with environmental photography.”
You have children; does that make your stance on the issue of climate change a more passionate one?
“My son certainly makes me feel a heightened sense of responsibility for the world that his generation is going to live in. Although, I know many people without children who are as invested as other parents and I are in this cause.”
The Floodzone exhibit will be traveling after it wraps its series at HistoryMiami this April. So where will Floodzone be traveling to next?
“In December 2021-May 2022, the FloodZone exhibition will be shown at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia. Then in July 2022-January 2023, FloodZone will be presented at the Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York.”
If you had to pick one photograph from the exhibit that touched your heart the most when you snapped it, which one would that be? Why?
“That is the most challenging question as there is not just one image I care about more than the others! FloodZone photographs are meant to be seen as a whole, in sequence, as they are in my FloodZone book.”
FloodZone, which is on display at HistoryMiami Museum at 101 W. Flagler Street, will remain in place through April 17, 2022. Open Wednesday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., and Sunday noon – 4 p.m., admission is $10 for adults; seniors and students with ID are $8; children ages 6-12 are $5; Museum members and children under 6 are free. For more information, visit historymiami.org.
