November 4, 2010

Image Works, 80 Spadina Avenue, Toronto

 April Maciborka Photography Exhibit

 5:00 - 7:00pm

http://aprilmaciborka.com/

An Artist Statement:

The exploration of relationships within families through photography grew during my travels throughout Asia. I became a loyal people watcher, in need of understanding a language of culture and habits I didn’t understand. Since language was a barrier in my understanding, photography became an obvious means of breaking down the lines of miscommunication. Fascinated by people and their culture I began the process of understanding relationships within families, comparing and contrasting the differences between them, others I have known and my own. Each culture necessitated a lifestyle change where I had to build new and different relationships regardless of language differences. Without developing these bonds I would not have been allowed to photograph family units so easily.

Since 2005, I visited over 10 countries in Asia, documenting families from almost all of them. The Ontario Arts Council granted me $5,000 to continue the project onward to India, Africa, England and Canada, which brings me to show the 6 year project in making for the first time here in Toronto.

My series of family portraits from around the world are taken outside in front of each family’s home. This is an attempt to reveal not only the obvious such as clothing, housing, wealth and environment but also to focus on the minute consciousness of the individual and their family. It’s an observation of inner workings and relationships between individuals of the family networking beyond the safety of walls yet still retaining the familiarity of home and belonging in the front yard. I give seemingly naïve and nonchalant instruction for each family member to “Hold one another’s hands and jump at the count of three.” This I hope shakes the normalcy of their expectations in being accustomed to a conventional still and posed family portrait while loosening their inhibitions, thus bringing a certain lightness of uncalculated truth to the surface. When given this playful instruction I observed various initial responses. Certain cultures in India were very careful to analyze their surroundings, as acts that allowed freedom of inhibition are social taboos. In fact some families, although remaining to participate in having their family portrait taken, chose to not follow my instruction for the creative piece. For the most part however, the automatic reaction for my creative instruction was of silliness and not understanding the reasoning behind it but simply finding the childish fun in jumping over and over again. This suggestive playfulness quickly creates the mood for each family depending on their connection with one another. I simply captured their reactions to the instruction without correcting or directing them in any way. The instruction turns the simple everyday family portrait into a group task that ultimately attempts to reveal the true relationships of each family and individual within, in addition to religious beliefs and social stigmas.

These family portraits present viewers with a deeper way of looking at the façade that a family presents to the public. They reveal hidden truths of roles within the family, culture nuances, differences within generations, bonds and relationships or lack thereof among individuals. These truths are then revealed and defined by us, the believing observer, whose consciousness and past are then sole ambassadors in being responsible of taking our own roots and consolidating them with a truth we may not have known before.