Opening Reception, July 6, 6-8:30PM

Artist’s statement:

One Sunday, while on vacation in the Abaco Islands, I heard music pouring from the windows of a turquoise painted building. ALL ARE WELCOME was stenciled on the stone doorstep. It appeared not by accident that I was drawn into the fellowship of this Haitian church. My photographs are neither formal studio shots, nor are they casual street portraits—although my “studio” was in the shade of a building across from the church. That’s how Church Ladies started. It’s an on-going series.

By making a respectful connection with my subjects—even if a “sitting” is no more than five minutes—I try to capture the essence of the individual. I ask them to make eye contact with the camera, and for a few shots, not to smile.  My best photographs reflect an honest interaction between my subjects and me, resulting in a narrative portrait of beauty, dignity, and a sense of faith. 

Church Ladies: Donnella 

St. James Methodist Church, Hope Town, Elbow Cay, The Bahamas

Archival pigment print