The Griffin Museum of Photography is pleased
to present the current exhibition
Traces of Existence, featuring
photographs by artists Alejandro
Cartegena, Muriel Hasbun, Ilena
Doble Hernandez, Rodrigo
Valenzuela, and Alejandro
Morales.
We often measure our existence by the objects we hold, our memories, and
the stories told through generations. Traces of Existence unites these five
artists, each speaking to ideas of migration, history, reminiscence, family, and
existence through their constructed imagery, such as collage, visual
juxtapositions, and physical manipulations.
Using photographs, video and installation,
these visual narratives reflect the artists'
exploration of identity, their relationship with
their homeland, and the socio-political issues
of Latin America and the United States. The
highly charged political language used to
identify immigrants as others exacerbates
the complexity of the already cultural,
emotional and physical barriers we establish,
both real and arbitrary lines of existence. The
artists of Traces work to connect the physical
landscape with the memory of what is left
behind.
Open April 6 through June 9 2024, the exhibition speaks to ideas of
migration, history, reminiscence, family, and existence through experimental
photography, such as collage, visual juxtapositions, and physical
manipulations. Though distinguished stylistically, the artists' exploration of
their identity and homeland unite them conceptually.
In her series Pulse: New Cultural Registers, Muriel Hasbun references her
homeland, El Salvador, through depictions of seismic registers. The
exhibition features a video installation by the artist titled Paper Boats
(Barquitos de Papel), which asks visitors to participate by making their own
paper boats.
Rodrigo Valenzuela's series New Lands (Nuevas Tierras) makes visual
connections to the land through desert landscapes that encourage us to
think about man-made borders and their relationship to our sense of place.
Working with local high-school students, Valenzuela will also create a site-
specific installation both inside and outside the museum.
Ileana Doble Hernández will
present two sets of series, Los
Gringos and Pollage.
Hernández defines herself as
an immigrant, a woman, a
mother, and an artist, a
statement clearly reflected in her documentary photographs and collages.
Studio Sessions, by Alejandro Cartagena, are
collages of found photographs that evoke ideas
of nostalgia, home, and family history. The cut-
outs emphasize the absence of figures,
encouraging viewers to question the role of
photography in remembering the past.
