January 27 – March 2, 2024
(upper gallery)
“Who we are is innately connected to where we live. The land, vegetation, sea, and weather that surround us create who we are. Humans have an affinity with the natural world that is rooted in our biology. We subconsciously seek connection with the life in our natural environment. We are akin to our surroundings; the human body merges with nature, and it becomes part of our identity. These connections reflect the resilience we slowly gain through time”.
– Christine Germano
Lonsdale Gallery presents the Canadian premier of Vancouver based photographer Christina Germano’s new powerful series of composite analog film portraits.
Chrsitine Germano, convergence, Installation View
Lonsdale Gallery, Upper Gallery
Christine Germano
Nunavut, Ice Jumper
2020
digital print on archival photo paper, ed. of 10
24 x 54 inches
$1,950 (unframed)
“Early one spring morning in Pangnirtung, Nunavut I woke up at 4am to hear children laughing and talking loudly in Inuktitut. Curious, I jumped out of bed, pushed the black plastic bag blinds aside to see youth jumping along the ice blocks in the thawing harbour. The photograph of the landscape was taken at the top of the Mt. Duval looking down onto the hamlet. The two photos link together perfectly as the ice-flow from a distance meshes perfectly with the image taken from the ocean’s edge. This image represents so many things for me, the fragility of nature and life, how we must take leaps to move forward, and what we do will be reflected in our future.”
Germano creates compelling large format portraits that celebrate the resilience and fortitude of people residing in remote regions in the Arctic and Small Island Developing States. The portraits and majestic panoramas land coalesce and meld into each other, simultaneously mirroring and reflecting each other. Her photographs visually make a direct correlation between the awe-inspiring splendour of these regions and the communities directly impacted by the climate crisis.
“Never have I seen a such sight, as the pink sandy beaches of Barbuda. Like her name Rose’s shirt was the colour of the sand. The shirt contained all the vibrant colours of Barbuda, rosy beaches, soft turquoise surf of the clear Caribbean sea, suffused with warm shades of brown. As I walked the dirt roads with my students for our after school photo walks, Rose was leaning against the door in her stripped shirt of turquoise, yellow, pink and trimmed in brown. Moments like these yank me in place full stop. I like to find these moments of complementary colour as they exist naturally. Five years after I took this photo Hurricane Irma flattened 90% of the structures on the island including the school, government buildings and homes. A two year old boy died and all 1,800+ residents were relocated to Antiqua. Just recently Barbudans have begun to return and rebuild.”
Christine Germano
Barbuda Mother
2020
digital print on archival photo paper, ed. of 10
24 x 54 inches
$1,950 (unframed)
Chrsitine Germano, convergence, Installation View
Lonsdale Gallery, Upper Gallery
Christine Germano
Chukotka, Reindeer Herders
2020
digital print on archival photo paper, ed. of 10
24 x 54 inches
$1,950 (unframed)
“A few days after I arrived in Enmelen, Chukotka Russia the children at the school performed for the community. They all dressed up in their traditional regalia. The Chukchi women adorn their heads with beautifully beaded headbands that dangle down the sides of their faces moving elegantly with their traditional dances. After the performance Etynkau Yaroslava Sergeevna and the other students with permission were excited to pose and show off their beautiful dresses. The reindeer herders of Russia are some of the most remote and transit, following the herds for weeks at a time. The herders drag hunting huts on skies behind snowmobiles or in the past by reindeer to sleep in while hunting. This particular hunting hut became stuck in the ice and was abandoned for the year.”
Chrsitine Germano, convergence, Installation View
Lonsdale Gallery, Upper Gallery
Germano has been actively working in collaboration with Indigenous communities since 2000. She is best known for her photojournalism projects that center the voices and images of young people whose futures are directly impacted by social and environmental concerns. A socially engaged artist and environmental advocate, Germano has worked closely in collaboration with Indigenous communities around the world to facilitate community art projects on the effects of climate change. Her photographic practice is rooted in story telling and community engagement.
“The Marshall Islands are in the North Pacific Ocean. Like most Small Island Developing States, rising sea levels are a huge concern, as are the costs of building sea walls to protect them from the engulfing sea and also change the landscape of the island. During a photo walk with my students, we turned the corner of a huge brick wall in the community to find the perfect photo. Leaning against a turquoise brick wall, the blind elder sits on a bench in silence taking a break from the beating heat of the sun. Wearing a peach shirt with his red hat sitting beside him, the contrasting colours and the blue brick wall behind him visually weaved together the two compositions visually and symbolically..”
Christine Germano
Marshall Islands, Elder (Site-less)
2020
digital print on archival photo paper, ed. of 10
24 x 54 inches
$1,950 (unframed)
Christine Germano
Greenlandic Love
2020
digital print on archival photo paper, ed. of 10
24 x 54 inches
$1,950 (unframed)
“We reflect where we live. Life partners, Karen and her husband Calles Piitaaraq (Peter) Zeeb live a traditional subsistence life, eating country food her husband hunts. They live in Uuummannaq, translated means in the shape of a heart. Karen and her husband are one of the most loving couples I have ever met. This elderly couple led a trying life, having faced many challenges together. Karen is the maker and creator of beautiful things made from fur, in particular sealskin. Even though Karen does not speak a word of English and I know a handful of Greenlandic words, we spent many days together exchanging and communicating through facial expressions, body language and miming. She fed me seal and I documented her cleaning, stretching, and sewing seal skin into mitts, hats, coats, purses and more. At this moment, Karen was showing me the large sealskin her husband had caught. Peter glanced over to her with the most loving eyes I had ever seen. I asked if I could photograph the two of them together and Karen promptly placed the large skin on the couch and grabbed her husbands hand. The colours of the warm sun, shimmering against the melting sea, captures the deep connection shared by the couple; a profound love for each other and the land that surrounds them.”
Chrsitine Germano, convergence, Installation View
Lonsdale Gallery, Upper Gallery
Centering their lives and stories, Germano practice deliberately resists the postcolonial gaze. Instead, she draws on her two decades worth of Artist based research working closing with the people in these communities.
With this series Germano explores how empathy allows us to experience the world through the eyes of another. For the artist, empathy can be a powerful tool for transformative thinking. It affects the way we think, reflect, and respond to the world around us. For six years Germano worked in the Arctic and Small Island Developing States, working with communities to amplify their voices and share their stories. Her art-based approach to community practice is rooted in a profound sense of affinity. With this series, Germano seeks to create a space in which viewers are asked consider what it is like to walk in someone else’s shoes.
“Tuvalu is a chain of islands and atolls in the Pacific, and is one of the countries most threatened by climate change. An atoll is the rim of an extinct volcano covered in coral. Monthly flooding in Funafuti, Tuvalu is a regular occurrence during high tide making the locals them some of the most resilient spirited people I have ever met.
The children told me stories of “when they were young” they used to picnic and swim on a small islet filled with coconut and palm trees with their families on the weekends. In their lifetime they have watched the islet slowly disappear under rising sea levels twice a day till it became just a pile of white sand.
The scientists predict Tuvalu will be under water by 2050. Meaning these children will lose their homeland and be displaced. The highest point on the Funafuti Atoll is five metres above sea level. The thin strip of land drops off straight into the Pacific Ocean and within the atoll is the crystal blue waters of a calm lagoon.
On this day the Taiwanese government bought enough flip-flops for every child on the island. Each student came to school with their own traditional floral headdress called a fou, weaved from flowers by their mother, grandmother or auntie. The afternoon was filled with dances of gratitude for the community and dignitaries.“
Christine Germano
Disappearing Tuvalu
2020
digital print on archival photo paper
24 x 54 inches
Christine Germano is the founder and director of the Constant Arts Society and the Artistic Director of the Portraits of Resilience project coordinated by Many Strong Voices / GRID Arendal. Germano has collaborated with Indigenous communities since 2000 but is best known for her photojournalism projects that focuses on the voices and images of young people whose futures are influenced by social and environmental issues. The project encourages youth to use photography and writing as a means to express themselves and their community, build self-confidence and empower themselves to be global citizens and mentors.
The international photojournalism project titled Portraits of Resilience has allowed her to work with indigenous youth to illustrate the personal and ethical effects of climate change on their communities. Since its creation in 2008, the project has occurred in 12 countries (29 communities) and was launched at the National Museum of Denmark during the COP 15 in 2009 and has continued to exhibit internationally. Christine is also a recipient of the John Hobday Awards in Arts Management through the Canada Council of the Arts. In May 2015 Germano was honoured with an Alumni Award from the OCAD University.