Do Not Open

Book excerpt: When the floodwaters that swamped New Orleans finally receded in September 2005, the post-Hurricane Katrina recovery began. One of the most common sights was the discarded home refrigerator, perched on the curb and ready for disposal. For months, thousands upon thousands of ruined refrigerators still awaited pick-up. Many had messages scribbled with markers or blurted with spray paint, rendered by owners and passersby alike, ranging from practical to sentimental, the angry to the darkly humorous. This book, featuring hundreds of black-and-white photographs, presents the communiques that transformed appliances into message boards, and explores the post-disaster environment that inspired their creation.