THE FAMILY CAMERA: Opens at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto
On May 6 The Family Camera exhibit opened the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), a couple of days after the sister show had opened at Art Gallery of Mississauga. My work, which is part of the ROM exhibit, explores a relationship between family photos from my grandmother’s collection along with two large multi panel works titled “Husking and Braiding White Corn” and “Father’s Day.”
From the ROM:
The Family Camera invites you to see family photographs differently. Tucked away in a box, framed on the wall, or saved to the cloud, personal photos are all around us in abundance. For Canadians, family photographs are often linked to stories of migration. Whether recent or in the distant past, over short or long distances, international or even within Canada, photographs play an important role in these experiences. From departures and arrivals to everyday moments and milestones, they capture these journeys and keep us connected; even the family photos that are lost or destroyed along the way can still linger in our imaginations.
Exploring the relationship between photography and the idea of family, The Family Camera looks at family photographs as a cultural practice through the lens of migration. It considers the social, political, and technological influences that impact how we conceptualize and represent family. Cultural shifts, such as same sex marriage and transnational adoptions enhance our notion of family, while the arrival of Polaroid cameras, smart phones, and the digital age have transformed the moments we capture and how we share them. With nearly every photograph featured in this exhibition coming from a Canadian home, The Family Camera sheds light on how family photos reflect and shape our sense of self, family, community, and nation.
Discover the connections between family, photography, and migration and bring your idea of family into focus.
Visit both Museums for the full exhibition experience:
