As I prepare to depart Los Angeles for a few months, I took a break from packing to see my former instructor and friend Ashley Hunt's offering to the Made In LA biennial. His performance, which is closest to a lecture in format (his website appropriately calls it a dismantled film), is titled Notes on the Emptying of a City, and is a self aware examination of the post-Katrina social landscape of New Orleans. It was very informative, presenting first-hand documentation and narration of the extremely complex situations of a city not only plagued by natural forces, but by social inequalities and injustices. Ashley allows the complications of his own position as an "outsider" with a camera to remain parallel to the faces and voices of those immediately effected by the pre-existing, disheartening horrors that became so disturbingly apparent after the storm. His sensitive approach to storytelling not only narrates his experiences but questions the places from and ways in which we can, or cannot speak. To accompany this notion; the audio and video testimonies of New Orleans natives produce an extremely emotional affect that demands, with contemplation and reflection, the reconsideration of a situation. There is still another chance to see Ashley's amazing work on JULY 10th at the HAMMER.