In the middle of a black and white photograph, a cow and a bull stand side-by-side flanked by dying trees and a warning sign: "Do not anchor or dredge." Facing the camera, the cows look ahead at the water around Venice, near the bottom of Plaquemines Parish where the Mississippi River meets the Gulf of Mexico.

Photographer Virginia Hanusik took the photo in 2022, while on coastal advocate Richie Blink's boat, where Hanusik said she's "been a million times." Like much of her work, the photo draws together images of the natural environment and manmade structures to tell a story about Louisiana's disappearing coast. The warning not to anchor is because of a crude oil pipeline underwater.

"I'm continuously curious about this relationship that Louisiana has with the natural world," Hanusik

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