Oil Crisis Project Exhibition

October 1, 2010- Oil Crisis Project Exhibition

Click here to RSVP

St. Louis professional photographer, Katherine Bish, exhibits photos to raise public awareness of the ecological damage of the BP oil spill. Money raised will help charities working with the harmed animals.

The "aha" moment for Katherine Bish was seeing an AP wirephoto of an oil-covered pelican in the Gulf of Mexico in the aftermath of the BP oil spill.

Motivated by her empathy for the animals and wondering how human beings would... look and feel if they were affected in the same way by this ecological disaster, Bish, a St. Louis food photographer, went into her studio. With the help of like-minded friends and acquaintances, she created a series of black and white photographs of humans covered with chocolate syrup to simulate the oil.

To further raise public awareness and to raise money to help the animal rescue, Bish arranged an exhibit of many of these photographs to be held at the Mad Art Gallery in St. Louis October 1st through October 31st. Profits from the admission fees will be donated to one or more of charities working in the Gulf from the Saint Louis Better Business Bureau's approved "Wise Giving Alliance" list.

Later, the exhibit will be posted on Bish's web site, www.oilcrisisproject.org along with the BBB's 'Wise Giving Alliance " list to encourage others to donate.

As word spread about Bish's photographs, the local Fox and NBC affiliated TV stations sent crews to document the project. She’s received reports that other photographers have set out to duplicate her process and images to raise awareness.

The Mad Art Gallery, a former St Louis City police station at the corner of 12th and Lynch Street in the Soulard neighborhood near the Anheuser-Busch brewery, will host Bish's exhibit with an opening night reception on Friday October 1st from 7 to 11pm. The cost of admission is a $10 donation. Music will be provided by The Dave Stone Trio and Violinist Tony Morales. Food and beverages will be provided by some of St. Louis’ most charitable establishments including The Pasta House Company and Atomic Cowboy. The event will be hosted by J. Kim Tucci, owner of the Pasta House Company.

Katherine Bish has been a professional photographer for 10 years. After moving to Saint Louis in 2002, she specialized in food photography along with her photojournalism, travel and wedding photography. Her clients include St Louis Magazine, The St. Post-Dispatch and The Pasta House Company Restaurants.

Images from the exhibit are available for publication in conjunction with any articles about the exhibit, and Mrs. Bish will be glad to be interviewed.