(BTC) Death Whisper (Grey Cross)

BTC Stands for "Behind the Curtain". Its a look at work created by various artists, photographers and creators around the world. 

Its a small peak behind the curtain as to how the piece was created and the conceptual ideas behind it. 

All art comes with a story. 

New Orleans is a very haunted city, especially Holy Cross. 

The Holy Cross neighborhood sits very close to the Mississippi River in a very secluded area where the Industrial Canal lets out into the river. 

Here was the home of Holy Cross High School. Built in 1871 this famous landmark weathered all sorts of tragedies including the floods from Hurricane Katrina. The beautiful building was in pretty bad shape after that and the school built a new campus in a different part of the city, leaving the building above to fall to an urban ruin. 

It was around 3am in the morning when we decided one night to go photograph it. 

As we made our way around the vast abandoned campus we came around to find the back side of the building filled with huge live oaks that overhung pathways and benches. As I wandered around photographing, I stopped on a path that ran straight to the building. Where two live oaks crossed limbs over the path, there was a boy hanging from a garrote strung in the branches.

As the art reflects, what I saw wasn't a once living body, but a vision of a translucent form that I could see through and which I could only see the upper portion. 

I had an instant need to bow my head and take my eyes off the form. When I looked up again it was gone. I was not afraid. I knew what I was seeing was not corporeal. But I saw something.

Now I know of no instance of a young man being hung on the grounds of Holy Cross. If it ever happened there is no public record of it. Could it have happened? Yes. For whatever reason it was something I was meant to see. 

My theory is that this was not a murder or lynching. Rather, I think it might have been a suicide by a student of the school. 

Don't ask me why I think that. Just a feeling. 

One last thing that fascinates me is how many people look at the image above and totally miss the boy hanging from the tree. To me its obvious, but I guess not to everyone.