Griffin News

We are thrilled to announce the 10 finalists of the 2024 Richards Family Prize. A huge thank you to the hundreds of artists who submitted their incredible works for consideration and to Aline Smithson for carefully reviewing every single one of them.

Smithson remarks: “This was truly one of the best groups of submissions I’ve seen in a long while. There was so much significant work submitted that it was almost impossible to narrow hundreds of projects down to one. Thank you to all who submitted for elevating the craft with such powerful, personal, and meaningful projects that make me so excited to be part of this special community of seers and thinkers. Thank you also to the Griffin Museum of Photography for establishing this incredible award.”

2024 Richards Family Prize Winner | Izabella Demavlys

Izabella Demavlys is a Swedish born photographer and filmmaker based in NYC. She studied photography at the Royal Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, as well as Parsons School of Design in New York. For many years she focused on fashion photography, but in the fall of 2009, she decided to travel to Pakistan to pursue documentary work about women who had suffered brutal acid attacks.

Her work has been published in Vogue, Marie Claire, The New York Times, WSJ and VICE.

2024 Finalists

Yorgos Efthymiadis | The Lighthouse Keepers

Yorgos Efthymiadis is an artist/curator from Greece who resides in Somerville, MA. A board member of Somerville Arts Council and chair of the Visual Arts Fellowship Grants since 2017, Efthymiadis is also a reviewer for the Lenscratch Student Prize Awards since 2023 and finds it very fulfilling to help fellow photographers and give back to the photographic community.

An awardee of the Artist’s Resource Trust A.R.T. Grant in 2024, a finalist for the 2017 Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellowship, and the recipient of the St. Botolph Club Foundation 2017 Emerging Artist Award, Efthymiadis has exhibited nationally and internationally and is represented by Gallery Kayafas in Boston.

In 2015 he created a gallery in his own kitchen, titled The Curated Fridge. The idea behind this project is to celebrate fine art photography and connect photographers with established and influential curators, gallerists, publishers and artists from around the world through free, quarterly curated calls. The Curated Fridge recently celebrated 9 years of exhibitions, featuring more than 1500 artists in 38 shows juried by 44 guest curators.

Yuki Furusawa

Yuki Furusawa is a Japanese photographer and book artist, based in both Hong Kong and Japan. Furusawa discovers strong emotional feelings revealed by the intimacy of her close relationships with her family. She creates artist books that use various textured media, which are dependent on her emotional response. The familiar physicality of the book is essential in her intimate works.

Furusawa graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design Hong Kong in 2017 with Master of Arts in Photography. Her work has exhibited in Hong Kong and Japan. She participated in Hong Kong Photo Book Fair 2016. Her work is part of the SCAD Library Permanent Special Collection.

Pia Paulina Guilmoth

Pia-Paulina Guilmoth lives and creates art in rural central Maine. She is a working-class transgender woman who resides with her girlfriend and two cats in a small, treehouse-like space inside a very old shoe factory on the bank of the Sandy River.

In her free time, Pia enjoys laying in the dirt, holding her friends, and trespassing into abandoned houses and barns. Her work is primarily about harnessing beauty as a form of resistance in a world full of terrors. While creating art, she reflects on themes such as class, gender, euphoria, dysphoria, and the ways queer community can flourish in rural areas.

Her current project, Flowers Drink the River, portrays the queer community she belongs to in rural central Maine and explores her search for magic and beauty in the landscapes surrounding her home.

Alena Grom

Ukrainian artist and documentary photographer Alena Grom was born in Donetsk. In April 2014, she was compelled to leave her hometown due to the military conflict in Eastern Ukraine. Since 2017, she has resided in Bucha, a town near Kyiv. Following the full-scale invasion of Russia in February 2022, Grom and her family became refugees for the second time, but returned after Bucha was de-occupied.
These experiences have profoundly influenced her artistic practice. Photography has served as a lifeline for her, allowing her to confront the traumatic realities of war. Since 2016, Alena Grom has centered her work on locations affected by military aggression, capturing the lives of war victims, migrants, refugees.
Grom operates at the confluence of social reporting and conceptual photography, often working on her themes from the front lines. She perceives her “mission” as documenting the lives of individuals caught in the “gray zones” or near military conflicts. Through her photographs, she aims to inform the global community about the complexities of wartime life, the tragedies of
Importantly, her images do not exist merely as illustrations of sorrow or grief. One of her primary themes is the persistence of life amidst adversity.
Alena Grom has received recognition as a laureate and winner in numerous international photography contest:

Rodrigo Illescas

Rodrigo Illescas was born in Bahía Blanca, Province of Buenos Aires, in 1983.
He is an architect and photographer. He published the books, “Asimismo, todo aquello” (2007), declared of Cultural Interest by the National Secretariat of Culture; and “Razia” (2011).
He is currently a professor at the University of Buenos Aires.

Awards (selection): Global GFX FujiFilm Challenge; 1st prize Felix Schoeller Photo Award; Leica Finalist, Oskar Barnack; Grand Prix, PhotoDays Festival, Rovinj, Croatia; 1st Prize, Portraits, PoyLatam, Mexico; 1st prize, Best Portfolio, “Transversalidades”, Portugal; Honorable Mention, Provincial Visual Arts Salon Florencia Molina Campos.

Exhibitions (selection): Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome, Italy; Somerset House, London; Museum of Cultural History in Osnabrück, Germany; CCK, Argentina; among others.

Work in Collection: Museum of Arts and Crafts, Zagreb; National University of Villa María, Córdoba; Private Collections in London, Madrid and Andorra.

Pedro Ledesma III

Born in South Dakota and raised in a small town in Texas, Pedro has always appreciated wide, open spaces and small communities. Exploring the world and embracing his Korean-Mexican heritage have given Pedro a unique understanding of family and culture. From Texas public schools to MIT and Columbia University, Pedro’s education has been a constant source of inspiration and fueled his lifelong curiosity. His diverse background, including work on Wall Street, research in international development economics, and experience as a teacher, informs his understanding of global dynamics.

Pedro’s photography journey has evolved from documenting beauty in everyday moments to using his camera as a tool for social change, echoing the justice-focused themes he probed in economics. He explores the complexities of social and economic inequities, alongside his own identity in America as a mixed-race, Southern Baptist-raised, Ivy League graduate. Through his creative work, Pedro aims to spark positive change towards greater equality by exploring how these national issues unfold on the stage of small town America.

Matthew Ludak

Matthew Ludak is a documentary photographer and photojournalist focusing on long-term projects about economic disparity, de-industrialization, and environmentalism in the United States.

Published and exhibited internationally, in 2021 Ludak received an Artist Fellowship from New Jersey State Council on the Arts. In 2022 his work was shown in the Wisconsin Biennial at the Museum of Wisconsin Art and the Soho Photo Gallery in New York City. In 2022 he had his first solo and international exhibition in Braga, Portugal, as part of their annual Photography and Visual Arts Festival. In 2022 Ludak was invited to attend the prestigious Eddie Adam’s workshop in Calicoon, New York where he received the National Geographic award for his work. In 2024 Ludak was included in GUP Magazines FRESH EYES International 2024 Talent, as well as receiving an Award of Excellence from the Alexia Foundation.

Ludak’s work has been featured in The Washington Post, The Economist, TIME, Bloomberg, and Fox Business.

He holds a BA in History and English from Drew University, a Certificate in Documentary Studies from the International Center for Photography, and an MFA in Studio Art from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.    

Emily Hanako Momohara

Emily Hanako Momohara was born in Seattle, Washington where she grew up in a mixed race family. Her work centers around issues of heritage  multiculturalism, immigration and social justice. 

Momohara has exhibited nationally, most notably at the Japanese American National Museum in a two-person show titled Sugar|Islands. She has been a visiting artist at several residency programs including the Center for Photography at Woodstock, Headlands Center for the Arts, Fine Arts Work Center and Red Gate Gallery Beijing.  In 2015, her work was included in the Chongqing Photography and Video Biennial. Momohara has created socially driven billboards for For Freedoms and United Photo Industries. She lives and works in Cincinnati where she serves as the Interim Studio Arts Chair, a Professor and heads the photography major at the Art Academy of Cincinnati.

Xan Padrón

Galician photographer Xan Padrón (Ourense, Spain, 1969) received his first camera at the hands of the photojournalist Enrique Reza, who awoke in him a passion for the photography of the everyday, just as his father, the journalist Luís Padrón, awoke in him the patience to listen and observe stories.

After diverse street photography projects in New York City (Human City, Motion City, Visions of New York), in 2011 he began his acclaimed project, “Time Lapse”: a collection of portraits of various cities through the people who inhabit them. His series Time Lapse has been exhibited, among other places, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, The Pfizer Building in New York, and the Sala Valente in Spain. Xan Padrón’s artwork is held in corporate and private collections across the globe.
In 2023, Padrón was invited by the MTA Arts & Design Program to exhibit at the Bryant Park subway station in New York City. His work has been featured in international publications such as New England Review, Die Zeit Magazine, and Photo World Magazine, as well as in the cover of academic anthologies like “Race, Class and Gender in the United States” (MacMillan, 2020) and “Personal Networks” (Cambridge University Press, 2021). His Time Lapses were also selected for the Art on Link program by the City of New York.
 Xan Padrón’s career as a photographer is deeply intertwined with his previous profession as a professional musician. For over a decade, he toured with his bass and his camera, capturing life surrounding the musicians he collaborated with. As a photographer of artists and concerts, he has worked in an official capacity for APAP (Association of Performing Arts Professionals, United States) and has contributed to publications such as Inside Arts and The Writer Magazine (United States).Xan Padrón shares his life with musician, educator, and writer Cristina Pato. Since 2005, he spends his time between Galicia and New York City and has his studio at Mana Contemporary (NJ). 

We had the opportunity to speak the 2024 winner of the John Chervinsky Emerging Photographer Scholarship, Bridget Jourgensen. Her exploration of solitude, light and composition in her series Homeshadows captivated this year’s jury to earn her a monetary award, an upcoming exhibition and artist talk at the Griffin Museum as well as a volume from the collection of photographer John Chervinsky.

A Q&A with the artist follows.

Homeshadows was your first intentional series and attempt at cohesive storytelling through images. What was it about shadows (and light) that led you to produce this series? 

I think the shadows found me, leading me on an unexpected journey. I first noticed them the day I moved into our 300 year-old home and they caught my attention right away. After a few weeks of observing, I decided to document them. I began to note the best times of day and would actively look for them, captivated by their shifting forms.  Not yet knowing how the seasons would transform the interplay of shadow and light, I felt committed to capturing the year’s passage through images. The old, paned windows in my home added a playful geometry to some of the shots, and the mature trees provided movement.   I started positioning myself in the path of light which created a bit of tension and mystery to the images that I found appealing.  I came to understand the sun path and rhythm of the house very well.  Throughout the year, I worked to capture the layers, texture, and mood of these moments.  I also wanted to cultivate a feeling of ‘home’ by including glimpses of personal items—a pillow, a fan, a matchbox—that grounded the scenes in the simplicity of daily life.

Almost five years have passed since the height of the pandemic. Where are you now creatively?

That’s a tough question because my feelings about artistic direction and the creative process can shift daily. Some days, I feel a lack of inspiration. On others, I’m overflowing with ideas and energy. Recently, alongside preparing for my upcoming exhibit at the Griffin Museum, I’ve been coordinating work for two additional exhibits here in Providence which have demanded considerable time and effort.  As a result, I haven’t had my camera out as much as usual. I’m really looking forward to getting back to shooting in January, with a fresh focus and renewed creativity.

Congratulations on your first solo exhibition! What is the most exciting part about having an upcoming exhibition at the museum?

So much about it excites me.  Above all, it’s an honor to have my work recognized by the museum—it feels both affirming and humbling. As an emerging artist, I’m learning much about presenting and discussing my work, coordinating with others, and navigating the professional art world.    This experience has been invaluable, and I’m grateful to everyone at the museum who has supported me along the way.  The exhibition will give me the confidence to move forward with a greater sense of focus and professionalism. It is a very proud moment for me, and for my family and friends as well.

How have you been preparing for the show?

I began by revisiting the images for the show, making sure each one was properly edited. Once I was satisfied, I started to work with a local printer, but soon realized they weren’t the best fit for this project.   I then moved to a second printer, and after several test prints and revisions, I am delighted with the results we achieved.

Next, I brought the work to the framer, where we made further decisions about the final presentation. To help with print size and framing choices,  I visited the Griffin Gallery twice, simply to get a feel for the space where my work will be displayed. I’ve also been attending artists’ talks, speaking with other artists about their own exhibition experiences, and gathering tips and feedback. These insights are helping me prepare for and deliver what I hope will be a captivating exhibit and gallery talk for the museum.

Looking at the work of John Chervisnky, do you find any similarities between your oeuvres? 

Such an interesting question.  John was known for works that explored the concept of time and perspective, and it seems that he approached his craft in an extremely precise and academic way.  In the case of my project Homeshadows, you could say that it, too, is an exploration of time and perspective, so I see a strong similarity there.  I also appreciate that John, like me, was self-taught in the art of photography and had a full and successful career for years before deciding to devote himself to his craft.  And it’s not lost on me that we both had our first solo exhibition at the Griffin Museum.

What’s in store for you in terms of art-making?

I’m eager to continue a project I started last year and will be working on in the coming months.  The series will be a collection of images featuring solitary figures—women or possibly young girls—in a wooded setting, each incorporating fabric or netting as a prominent element in the composition. I don’t want to reveal too much just yet!

In addition, as an exhibiting member of the Providence Art Club, I participate in both member and juried shows throughout the year.  When time allows, I like to take classes and attend workshops to develop my craft. There’s plenty to keep me busy.

Finally, has there been an exhibition at the Griffin Museum that you’ve really enjoyed and you’d like to recommend?  

I discovered the Griffin Museum about 20 years ago when I was introduced to it by a friend.   At the time, I was living in Lynn, Massachusetts, and would visit the museum once a year or so to see the latest exhibits. The Griffin is truly special—not just for its unique architecture and history, but for its dynamic and ever-evolving programs and exhibits. Since moving to Providence, I don’t visit in person as often, but I stay engaged with what’s happening there.  I was especially captivated by the Artificial Intelligence exhibit, particularly Phillip Toledano’s Another America project. Lynne Breitfeller’s After the Fire: Water Damaged, which I saw in person, was hauntingly beautiful and left a lasting impression on me.

Frazier King is a photographer, collector and curator, living and working in Houston, TX. His photography work focuses on constructed still life with use of film and gelatin silver prints as well as digital capture and archival pigment prints. His work has been exhibited internationally and is included in the collections of many individuals along with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Harry Ransom Center, Austin, TX; George Eastman House, Rochester, NY; Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, France; and Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  He has been a collector since the 1990s. During his 15 years serving as a member of the board of directors of HCP, he curated or co-curated exhibitions and participated as a reviewer in photography portfolio review events around the world.

With the Griffin’s opening of The Collector’s Eye: A Photographer’s View of His Contemporaries, we compiled a list of questions for Frazier to get detailed insight of his journey in collecting.

You call your collection “accidental” as your acquisitions come from a place of impulse and intuition rather than strategic planning and research. Do you ever take a step back to look at your collection in its entirety and introspect on these “purely visceral responses” that have allowed it to evolve into what it is today?

this is a great question!  My collecting process started in earnest in 2000 but, due to a demanding legal career and an intense schedule of both HCP board membership duties and a photographic practice with associated events, I had not really taken a reflective moment until 2012.  Early that year Wendy Watriss, one of the founders of FotoFest, decided to present my collection as the second exhibition in the Collector’s Eye series.  At the time, in the statement for the exhibit I did indeed describe the collection as “accidental” because its acquisition process happened without a specific plan.  However, the task of developing a statement for the exhibition gave me the opportunity to examine the works and to address the nature of the collection–both how it came to be and exactly what it had become.  I gave gallery talks each Saturday while the exhibit was on display.  This gave the chance to explore the nature of the prints and determine both the sources and the meaning of the impulses driving the collection.  While I promised Wendy at the time that I would produce a catalog of the exhibition, I was far too busy with work and my own photography to be able to do it. However, when I retired in 2014 I started to work on my promise.  It quickly became obvious that it was long past the time when a catalog would be appropriate.  Therefore, I undertook to make a book with an essay.  Wendy also contributed an essay as did Madeline Yale Preston, the Executive Director of the Houston Center for Photography during a large portion of the time I was collecting.  I took the FotoFest name for the exhibit plus my own explanatory statement and called it The Collector’s Eye– A Photographer’s View of His Contemporaries.

We had the opportunity to ask Ville Kansanen a few questions about his experience as an artist-in-residence at the Griffin Museum. Kansanen exhibited a series of photo-based projects and installations, including Mojave Portals, Arid Harbingers and the site-specific installation Salting the Earth from July 22 – October 15, 2023.

A Q&A with the artist follows.

Applications for our Cummings Residency are open through October 31, 2024.
Apply now through Café.

Ville Kansanen (b.1984) is a Finnish multidisciplinary artist based in California. He works with photography, video, installation and land art. His work has been featured in several print- and online publications such as American Photo Magazine, GUP Magazine, SFAQ and Diffusion Magazine. Ville’s awards include a Lucie Award and IPA Fine Art Photographer of the Year. His first monograph was released by Datz Press in 2022. He has exhibited internationally with non-profit and private galleries.

Follow Ville on Instagram: @villekansanen

What are you working on now a year from your residency?

I’m primarily focused on developing new directions for my art practice, and focusing on my design career at the moment.

How did the work you created on site at the museum expanded or impacted your practice?

The residency afforded me the time and space to work with very demanding physical installation for the very first time. That gave me the confidence to stage sculptures and site specific installations at the Marshall Gallery in Los Angeles earlier this year.

How was your time in Winchester like?

I enjoyed the slower pace of the Winchester. I didn’t have as much time enjoying the town as I would’ve liked. The beautiful grounds at the Griffin Museum made me think of my home country Finland. I very much hope I can come back again soon.

What did the Cummings Fellowship mean for your art practice?

It was an incredibly valuable lesson in proportionality, planning, and perseverance. The residency gave me the courage to continue making even more ambitious and difficult work in the future.

We had the honor of asking artist and scientist Rashed Haq a few questions about his project Plausible Presidents, currently on view in our exhibition, Artificial Intelligence: Disinformation in a Post-Truth World.

Haq’s project, presents AI-generated images of the first sixteen US Presidents, most of them before the invention of photography. “The portraits, while visually plausible, are intellectually known as fabrications,” says Haq. The work “challenges viewers to confront their immediate acceptance of photographic information as factual.”

An interview with the artist follows.

Website: www.rashedhaq.com
Instagram: @rashedhaq

What is the most challenging aspect of balancing historical accuracy with artistic interpretation?

For this work, I wanted to make the type of images that I would make if I could have the Presidents in my studio, with my camera and camera lighting as I use them today. In this case, the challenge of historical accuracy was that there are no existing photographs for many of these Presidents, only paintings and sculptures, and sometimes drawings and text descriptions, exist. Part of the challenge was to understand if the available images were contemporaneous and if they were accurate representations of the individuals. 

What is the value of visual literacy in the age of AI?

Today, we are in the age of computational creativity, where we will see the proliferation of AI-generated visual media. Visual literacy—the ability to interpret, negotiate, and make meaning from information presented in the form of an image—will become even more necessary in this age. This will be necessary to contend with both the complexity of interpretation and the thread of misinformation.

Most captivating aspect of artificially generated images for you?

For me, it is probably “combinatorial creativity,” a concept where the algorithm blends diverse artistic elements to create new visual expressions. This approach uses algorithms to blend a variety of artistic elements, styles, techniques, and ideas from different art forms, art movements or historical periods, creating new visual expressions that can be both innovative and unexpected.

The one you grapple with the most, be it ethically or creatively?

One of the things that artists and others will have to grapple with is how to think about the work of art in the age of computational creativity, and the impact of this technology on our cultures and philosophies. 

How would you describe the cultural shift brought in by artificially generated images?

It is hard to tell how this will evolve, as we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg on the cultural shift. Media theorists are just getting started on understanding this change. But I suspect it will be a change greater than the camera had on our society over the last 200 years. 

What’s the most exciting aspect of this shift? The most worrisome?

The most exciting aspect is that this technology is freeing artists from the limitations of traditional camera techniques and the arduousness of photorealistic paintings, allowing artists to photograph their imagination. The worrisome aspects include both the misuse of the technology such is making disinformation more believable, but also potential inadvertent consequences that we have not even begun to think about. 

We had the opportunity to speak to Natalya Getman about her project, Sisters, recently on view in the 2024 edition Vision(ary): Portraits of Communities, Cultures and Environments. Presented as a part of Winchester Waterfield Summer Arts Festival, the installation featured more than 20 individual installations with distinct photographic styles. Vision(ary) is the Griffin Museum of Photography’s 5th Annual summer public art exhibition dedicated to the art of visual storytelling.

An interview with the artist follows.

Website: www.tuttagnutta.com
Instagram: @tutta_attut

Тutta Gnutta (Natalia Getman) is a photographer. Born and raised in Kimry (1979), lives and works in Odintsovo, Moscow Region. In her projects, Natalia Getman relies on the connection between man and nature, as an aspect of life that helps to find harmony and balance. She is interested in the topic of relationships between people, how strong connections between loved ones arise, how they develop and are maintained.

Where does your interest in photography come from?

In general, you could say that I took pictures all the time. I started taking pictures when I was still at school, first it was a Polaroid, a Zenith, my first SLR. For the most part it was amateur family photography. Then there was a break and for a few years I shot only on my phone. And then I decided to return to this hobby, and plunged headfirst into this huge photographic world.  And I love it here.

What inspired you to create this project about the friendship between your mother and aunt?

I was in photography school. I had an assignment to photograph a loved one some, one I cared about and hadn’t photographed before. I thought it was my aunt. As I was thinking about the shoot, I suddenly realized that I should shoot the two of them. They are very close, the relationship between them is unusual. The uniqueness of their relationship I didn’t realize it right away. It was ordinary and familiar to me, such an ordinary life, that you just live and don’t notice.

What role does the village setting and their upbringing play in your portrayal of their relationship?

They grew up in the village, and they keep coming back there, it is their place of strength. And, of course, village life has had a great impact on their outlook and perception of life. Constant labor, limitations and different physical work, it determines a lot of things.  I tried to shoot them in the city, but the narrative thread was already lost, and these photos were not included in the project. That’s why I do the main shooting in the countryside in the summer. When both sisters come there.

 Can you tell us more about this specific image?

This is a photo from their very first shoot together 4 years ago. I took photographs, some ordinary lifestyle shots, and we were in the village with my aunt. And suddenly she says, I forgot to rinse the clothes, they both break away and go to rinse her clothes in the pond behind the house. And this is what they are all about; this characterizes them very much. If there is something to do, get up and do it together.

 Are there specific moments or memories that stand out to you as particularly meaningful in their story?

The uniqueness of their relationship is still a mystery to me, they have never quarreled with each other once in their entire lives, although of course they quarrel with other people. They accept everything about each other unconditionally and with understanding, always agreeing. There is a picture in the project where they are cleaning mushrooms. They were preparing a table, knives, utensils, and this was such an interesting moment, the aunt brought a jacket to put on the bench to make it comfortable. Comfortable for both of them, and that’s just that invisible, caring for each other.

Finally, have you encountered any challenges in translating their story into art? How did you overcome them?

The difficulties were of course when I realized that I wanted to make it into a project, I needed to show this subtle interaction and friendship through photographs. It wasn’t easy, I had to look for metaphors and deeper meanings. Becoming an observer and noticing the usually unusual things that make up their relationships.

Last year on my mom’s birthday her husband died, and it was a very difficult summer for all of us. At the time, I already realized that this was a project and it had to go on. But, the mood was so sad that the filming didn’t really work out. At some point I got desperate and put the idea on hold. I went to study project photography to learn to understand how to tell a story through photography. For almost six months, I sorted through the archives and chose what could be included in this story to make it holistic, working on consistency.

In today’s Griffin State of Mind we speak to Erica Frisk about her project documenting the wolf sanctuary, Wolf Hollow’s in Ipswich, Masachusetts. The photographs were recently exhibited in the 2024 edition of our public outdoor exhibition, Vision(ary): Portraits of Communities, Cultures and Environments. An interview with the artist follows.

While pursuing her undergraduate degrees in photography and art history at Massachusetts College of Art & Design, Erica Frisk traveled to Guatemala to study Mayan art and architecture with researchers and historians in the field. This immersive experience sparked her love of travel and learning about unique cultures and history. After earning her BFA, she continued to travel through Central and South America, creating visual storytelling projects. Her photographs have been exhibited in solo and group art exhibitions throughout the US as well as in online & print publications. Her photographic work was also featured in the PBS Documentary: American Portrait (I Work) with a focus on labor unions. Frisk’s most recent projects explore local storytelling in New England as well as Iceland & Croatia. She has been working with youth in traditional school settings, as well as arts-based community and museum programs in Boston for over 10 years. Erica Frisk is a National Geographic Certified Instructor who aims to teach students about the world in innovative and interdisciplinary ways while cultivating the Explorer Mindset.

Website: www.ericafrisk.com

Instagram: @ericafriskphoto

What initially drew you to Wolf’s Hollow to document the story of wolves in the Northeastern United States?

As both an artist and educator, I’ve always been drawn to opportunities to combine visuals and learning, especially if it involves engaging with something in our own communities. 

I’ve led two National Geographic Photo Workshops in Yellowstone National Park for high school students where we observed and photographed wildlife in their natural habitat. The students and I observed a pack of wolves from a far while learning about their reintroduction into the park.  I was inspired by that experience to begin this project to further explore and share the significance of wolf conservation and the beauty of these remarkable creatures.

My connection with Zee Soffren, the Wolf Hollow’s owner, initially drew me in. Having known Zee for a few years and visited the sanctuary multiple times, I felt compelled to capture Wolf Hollow through my lens. The sanctuary’s unwavering dedication to educating the public and their compassionate care of these amazing creatures is truly inspiring. Wolf Hollow not only provides a safe haven for wolves but also fosters a deeper understanding of our environmental responsibilities.

Could you describe the sanctuary for us?

Wolf Hollow is a small sanctuary surrounded by fields with a backdrop of forests in the far distance. The sanctuary itself has many fences running along the front as well as in the surrounding areas as these are the wolf enclosures. It is well protected and showcases thoughtful use of the land to give enough space for each of the wolf packs. As you walk through the entrance, you have a meeting spot with education materials where the tours typically begin followed by a board walk to the enclosures. Through the fences, you’re able to see each of the wolves inside their enclosures before sitting in a covered area for the educational discussion often given by Zee Soffron along with a question and answer section of the tour.

What’s the first step you take to immerse yourself in the environment and prepare for a day of photographing these animals?

I usually arrive early and scout different scenes in each location that I am photographing. I didn’t only want to capture just the Wolf sanctuary, but also the landscape around it which gives us a greater sense of place. Ipswich is a coastal town with many wetlands as well as fields and forests. I was trying to imagine what life would be like for these wolves if they lived in this area.

Back at Wolf Hollow, Zee walked me around the sanctuary and gave me the opportunity for the wolves to get used to my presence. Wolves are very sensitive to new individuals and smell. So we wanted the wolves to get used to me moving around near the enclosures. Once that was established, I could begin photographing more up close than a typical visitor. 

What sparked your interest in exploring the significance of wolf sanctuaries, particularly their role in preserving biodiversity?

What sparked my interest with this type of work began with a deep fascination for wildlife and a growing awareness of the environmental challenges they face. Wolves, as apex predators, play a crucial role in maintaining the balance of their ecosystems. By studying and documenting sanctuaries like Wolf Hollow, I aim to highlight their importance not just as safe havens for these animals but as key players in conservation efforts. These sanctuaries help educate the public, foster a greater appreciation for wildlife, and contribute to broader initiatives to protect and restore natural habitats. Understanding the pivotal role of wolves in their ecosystems can inspire collective action to preserve biodiversity and ensure a healthier environment for all species. 

What could you tell us about the impact of their absence of wolves in the Northeast and sanctuaries in general?

The absence of wolves in the Northeast has had significant ecological impacts. Their removal from the Northeast  and the rest of the US has led to an overpopulation of deer and other herbivores, which in turn caused extensive damage to vegetation and disrupted the entire food chain. This imbalance affects not just plant life but also other animal species dependent on healthy habitats.

Sanctuaries like Wolf Hollow help address these issues by offering a refuge for wolves that have been injured,  and educating the public about their importance. They serve as living examples of how these animals contribute to ecological stability. By raising awareness and fostering a deeper understanding of wolves, sanctuaries support broader conservation efforts aimed at restoring these predators to their natural habitats. Additionally, sanctuaries play a crucial role in researching and advocating for the reintroduction of wolves into areas where they have been absent, which can ultimately help restore ecological health and resilience.

What is something that has deeply moved you about conservation efforts and human-wildlife interactions?

At sanctuary I wanted to capture portraits of each of the wolves as well as the people that engage with them each day. What is unique about Wolf Hollow is that the Zee and his team are physically present in the habitats with the animals and have developed relationships with each of the wolves. 

Because they are able to be with the wolves in their enclosures, they’re able to demonstrate many of the behaviors and physical attributes of the wolves. As visitors, they’re able to learn about the different wolf species as well as how they behave in their environments and with each other. Zee is able to create a immersive experience for the viewers while at the same time educating them on conservation and wolves as a part of a greater ecosystem. 

Finally, how has Wolf Hollow’s mission of rewilding deepened your understanding of conservation efforts?

Rewilding, as exemplified by the mission of Wolf Hollow, has profoundly deepened my understanding of conservation efforts. I see how it highlights the importance of restoring natural processes and habitats to reestablish ecological balance and biodiversity. I’ve observed how Wolf Hollow’s commitment to this concept underscored the interconnectedness of all species. This approach demonstrates that effective conservation goes beyond protecting individual species – it involves a holistic effort to revive entire ecosystems and foster a greater appreciation and respect for nature. This is deeply impactful to see happening and to be able to communicate and share with a wider audience through my photographs.

As our day at Wolf Hollow concludes, could you share a memorable encounter or discovery that has impacted your perspective on the importance of preserving wolf populations and their ecosystems?

While photographing the wolves at Wolf Hollow, I had a memorable experience with Akela, the alpha male. He approached me and positioned himself between me and the rest of the pack, a gesture Zee explained as his way of asserting dominance and “protecting his pack” from the unfamiliar presence of a visitor. 

As the photographer, this unexpected encounter offered me a unique opportunity to capture Akela up close. I was able to observe his facial expressions, the subtle movements of his ears, and the texture of his winter coat, which was in the process of shedding—a rare sight that would be difficult to encounter in the wild. Seeing Akela up close was both powerful and moving – not only his presence, but also the depth of his gaze. For me, this encounter underscored the profound power and elegance of wolves as they command both respect and admiration. 

It was truly an amazing experience photographing these wolves, ultimately creating a visual narrative that highlights their essential place in our ecosystem. My hope is that these images can inspire greater support for efforts to protect their natural habitats and ensure their continued survival. The work that Wolf Hollow does underscores the interconnectedness of our ecosystem, reminding us all of the vital role each of us plays in nurturing and protecting our natural world. 

We had the opportunity to speak to Caroline de Mauriac whose landscape photography work was recently on view in the 2024 edition of our public outdoor exhibition, Vision(ary): Portraits of Communities, Cultures and Environments. An interview with the artist follows.

Caroline de Mauriac, photographer, assemblage artist, and poet, spent her youth in New England and New York’s Hudson Valley. Following decades living in the Midwest and Rockies, she recently returned to her ancestral roots in Maine. She holds degrees in Anthropology and Museum Studies with an emphasis in Material Culture and Comparative Religion. She has a Bachelor of Science from Michigan State University and a Master of Arts from Denver University. Her professional career spanned work in museums and environmental organizations.

Although a mostly self-taught artist, Caroline has taken courses and workshops through Maine Media, Merry Meeting Community Arts Education, and with photographer Olga Merrill. She shows in galleries in Maine, including Meetinghouse Arts, The Maine Gallery, and River Arts. Her work often appears in various art and literary journals. Her images also hang in private collections in Maine, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Kansas. Samples of her work can be viewed at www.ieye.blog and at instagram.com/caroline.de.mauriac.

The tenuous relationship between the human and the other-than-human world inhabits her photographic practice, her assemblage pieces, and her poetry. She recently published a collection of her work, Everything Breathes: An Exhibition Catalog and Chapbook.

Follow de Mauriac on Instagram: @caroline.de.mauriac

What initially drew you to document “synthetic” landscapes, as you define them, rather than more  “natural” environs? 

Much of my ‘soul feeding time’ comes when I am out in nature and being fully in its cyclical presence through  the seasons. When shooting in places impacted by humans, I frequently focus on capturing the architectural wonders of human endeavors. Having anthropological training my interests often find me in places of  archeological, historical, and cultural significance.  

Over time, I’ve started drawing a conceptual line between ancient ruins and the modern abandoned structures that have been scattered over the landscape during the last century. A lot of infrastructure has been  abandoned over the years. The remains have become regular features in the landscape with more  accumulating every day. I started experiencing them for their uncomfortable permanence in contrast to the  cyclical nature of decomposing organic debris. Human structural detritus has become a global phenomenon,  surrounding us everywhere and we barely give it a second look. We have no use for the remains, commonly  averting our eyes while they live out their existence as pernicious blights on the earth slowly leeching their  toxins and inorganic residues into the land, air, and water. The prolonged process of their dissolution  manifests across a time frame which far exceeds what will likely be the planetary reign of humans. 

Was there any sort of transition in how you started documenting human structures versus how you  photograph them now? 

I’ve shot in a range of styles and genres over the years. In the built environment, my eye is drawn to  architectural features, especially doors and windows. All the better if they are historically important or visually  interesting. 

In recent years, my visual interest has shifted to include deteriorating doors and windows because they  possess unique features that manifest in uncontrolled ways. Unpredictable forms emerge as part of the inevitable deterioration process. Doors and windows as symbols in their decomposition became entry points for me to an expanded view of omnipresence and the long-term impact of abandoned human constructions. 

Take us on a shooting day with you. What gear do you usually work with? And what are the qualities that draw you in the most when choosing a frame? 

I carry my camera (an Olympus O-5 with 12-200 mm lens – that’s it) with me every day, everywhere. Rarely do I go out with preconceived notions or pre-preparations for a “shooting” day. Intuition and spontaneity are the only rules my shooting process.

What thoughts have you grappled with when it comes to picturing the long-lasting marks left by human civilization on the planet through the impermanent and at times immaterial medium of photography? 

All things are impermanent – even things that will outlast humanity. I don’t think much about questions surrounding the impermanent nature of photography. I invest my thoughts in what am looking at vs what I see and how the sense of it is transmitted through the lens of my camera and the filter of my inner vision. 

If Beyond the Anthropocene contributes in any way to a broader human experience as to our place and role in planetary processes that enhances awareness, compassion and/or sustainability in human action and consciousness – well wouldn’t that just be something? But concerning myself with the end product’s longevity or its meaning in the future is akin for me to trying to invent a full-blown cultural myth or predict what I will dream tonight. I just don’t know what will reveal itself next. The outcome is more organic than I am able to foresee. All creative endeavors expand awareness and human consciousness – almost always in ways we cannot predict. My photographic efforts are, by and large, an organic practice with little concern for its long-term resilience in the material world. All things end, but the creative process is an incomplete and imperfect product of one’s artistic vision. There’s always the possibility of another shot that will, with luck, express another intriguing variation on a theme. 

Are there any photographers focused on human constructions and landscapes that have inspired you? 

The iconic and groundbreaking images of Stephen Shore’s work, especially in the series’ Surfaces and Uncommon Places, were among the earliest influences for me that loosened my grip and opened the possibilities of what photography can do and mean for me as an artist. 

I find Sean Kernan’s work deeply personal and moving. The Missing Pictures is not directly related to this project, but his technique and open approach to the art form speaks to me, specifically what he presents in his publication Looking into the Light. 

David Veldman’s work in abstract minimalism and architecture are some of my favorite images to consider in thinking about some of my own subject matter choices. His collection ‘Abandoned’, places the daily detritus of human habitation in the landscape in a way that is easily accessible and relatable. 

I am captivated and feel a great simpatico with Edward Burtynsky’s work, A Visual Archaeology which is his contribution to the Anthropocene Project, “a multidisciplinary body of work combining fine art photography, film, virtual reality, augmented reality, and scientific research to investigate human influence on the state, dynamic, and future of the Earth.”