Monday, August 5, 2024

PRATIK CITY WRITING SPECIAL : JULIE WILLIAMS-KRISHNAN'S "A Photographer’s Journey Through Time and Light"

 

PHOTOGRAPHY

 

JULIE WILLIAMS-KRISHNAN

A Photographer’s Journey Through Time and Light

 


Day by day, moment by moment, with both intention and divine happenstance, we move toward that person that we are meant to be. We are, and we are becoming, at the same time. For me, connecting with that authentic artist inside me, that photographer who sees images all day long in her mind, has been a process of learning to trust myself, to see myself, to believe in myself, and very importantly, to make time for myself. What has been very important for me to come to understand is that my creative voice offers something meaningful to the world, and only I can say it in that unique way.


My journey as an artist and photographer has tendrils to my childhood, but my coming of age as an artist was much later. I was raised in central Pennsylvania (USA), in a rural and working-class area, and art was not experienced or valued in a significant way. Like many of my generation, I had a point and shoot film camera and I enjoyed photographing my friends and family. When I was about 15 years old, I learned about French Impressionism from Mrs. Vanderhoof, a volunteer art teacher at school, and I was hooked on art. I started taking photographs of the nearby jewelry store sign covered in snow and the ice mounds as they built up on the river that snaked by our home. I wanted to study photography in college, but we could not afford the camera that was required to take the program.

“The Threshing Place” is a body of work that was inspired by my upbringing. My mother taught Bible stories to children and I inherited her archive of teaching materials. Years later, I used that material to tell another story, one that weaves in my personal narrative as subtext. Most of the images are photographed in London in the Unitarian chapel where my husband and I were married. The final five images were taken in my hometown against the windows of the basement of the church where I went to school.

Washington DC



After college, I moved to Washington, DC. It was my first time living in a city. Every weekend I visited art galleries like the Smithsonian Institute, The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, The Phillips Collection, the Corcoran Gallery of Art. I fell in love with art and dreamt of having my work on the walls. The first large photography exhibition I saw was Annie Leibovitz’s portrait retrospective and I was amazed at how she portrayed her subjects. To this day, those images stand out in my mind. All this art exploration and self-discovery helped immerse me in the ways of seeing, of representing, and of interpreting. I invested in a serious film camera with some manual functionality and I started photographing the city and my life more intentionally.

London

I moved to London, UK in my late 20s, initially as an English literature graduate student and then I worked at a university for a number of years as an international admissions officer. I always travelled with a camera and many rolls of film! One of my students from Nepal, Hom, and I became friends. Hom needed an old motorcycle to get around London to make pizza deliveries and I needed a more serious camera to pursue my ever-growing photography passion. He had an Olympus manual camera that he no longer needed and I happened to have a non-functioning motorcycle that needed some repairs, so we did a swap! I signed up for a photography class at the university where I worked and started shooting with my “new” camera. I exhibited my first print at the end of that first class.


Somewhere along the way, I realized that I was taking about 1000 photographs a day in my mind. I was seeing the world as a photographer, even when I did not have a camera in my hand. I bought my first digital SLR camera, I built a portfolio, and I pursued my MA in Photographic Studies at The University of Westminster in London. There I learned about the work of some of my photographic influences, such as Cindy Sherman, Nan Goldin, Jeff Wall, Stephen Gill, and Henri Cartier-Bresson, to name a few. The MA program solidified my love of photography, taught me so much more about the language of imagery, and made me believe in myself as a photographer. 

Since then, the journey has been about learning to flex my photography muscles, and I have been able to do so in a variety of ways. I started freelance work for a media company that made huge billboards and I photographed their installations around London. I also assisted a food photographer, photographed events, and did some editorial assignments (for my friend Hom, who started a magazine!) and some portrait photography. I also exhibited my work around London and Oxford. I also taught photography at the university where I had worked in admissions. Being an artist can be a solo practice, but it does not have to be a lonely practice, and I have found it very important to stay connected to other artists and to trust them to give honest feedback and to provide mutual support. I started a monthly group for my artist friends so we could support each other. It was called “The Flying Eggs,” named after the Ethiopian proverb “Given the time, even an egg can fly.” I even did a photography project called “Learning to Fly” in which I wore angel wings and repeatedly jumped off a bench on Hampstead Heath.

London was a launchpad for me in so many ways, including photography and travel. Much of my urban work was done during these travels. I made a series titled “Between Towns” because I was photographing details of urban life rather than the obvious icons of the cities I was visiting.

Boston

In 2010 Sanjay and I moved to the Boston area. I accepted a consulting job in higher education and decided to focus on fine art photography rather than commercial photography. This was a pivotal decision for me. In addition to the consulting work, I set up a small studio, first at home and then in an artist building. I also worked part-time for several years as the director of programs at the Griffin Museum of Photography, which connected me to fine art photographers across the US and elsewhere. I learned about many different approaches to photography, got involved in portfolio reviews, and helped run photography classes, lectures, and events. I continue to make my own photographic art and submit work to shows and reviews. I also am part of a salon group of very talented female photographers and we support each other in our practice. I also started teaching photography classes and workshops, which I love to do. All these activities keep motivated as a photographer and artist.

Chennai

Another very important city in my life is Chennai, India. When I lived in London, I met and married Sanjay, who is from Chennai. We have spent much time there over our 20 plus years together. When visiting the family home and places important to our family, I use my camera to observe and investigate, as well as find my place within the family and in a culture so different from mine.


My personal photographic work is narrative and autobiographical. Work I have made in Chennai is about my relationship to my husband’s family. In my series “The Bindi Collection” I photographed my mother-in-law’s bindis across many years. In “Morning Poetry” I photographed the family home on one regular morning. In “The Third Eye” I photographed Tamil soap operas, seeking moments of tension between scenes that layered together stories.

In 2020, when the pandemic hit, the consulting work went quiet for a while and I decided to see what commercial work I might do in photography. I was hired as a real estate photographer and learned a whole new genre of photography. I have continued to do that work part-time and I enjoy telling the story of the space where people make their dwelling. It has been profitable and enjoyable work. I am also learning to be a food photographer and look forward to entering that field soon.

Cities are an inspiration to me. They are both a place to live and a place to play.  They are where ideas and people come together, where you can seek out your own interests and passions, where you can be as anonymous or as flamboyant as you wish. If you are curious, you can meet strangers who lead you to new lives. You meet ideas that take you new destinations. You learn about the gritty and the glamourous. I have been fortunate to visit many cities throughout the world, and while each has its own identity, there are common threads that make urban life stimulating. As a photographer, I seek to observe and celebrate meaningful moments, and the city is a delightful playground in which to photograph. Cities allow you to reinvent yourself without judgement, and I have taken advantage of the opportunity to evolve and grow in each city in which I have lived.


“I am a photographer.” The power those words have for me is immense. For so many years, it was a far-away aspiration, but now, photography is my language, it is part of what I do and who I am. It is not a journey I did alone. My husband, Sanjay, is my biggest supporter, and I am so grateful to him and for the many family members, mentors and teachers along the way. I also have a wonderful group of photographer and artist friends upon whom I rely for support and encouragement. I have learned that if I am not doing something related to photography, even if it just a small part of my day or week, it is as if a light has turned off inside of me. When I am making work, and I am connected to photography and photographers, my creative self is fulfilled and the spark is lit.

 

 


Julie Williams-Krishnan is a fine art and freelance photographer, artist, and educator who teaches photography and leads workshops at university and community level. Julie served as the Director of Programs at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, Massachusetts (USA) for five years. She has served a juror for the Somerville Arts Council and the Winchester Public Schools, a committee member for FlashPoint Boston photography festival, and on the committee for the Renaissance Photography Prize, an international photography competition that raises money to support younger women with breast cancer. Julie’s personal photographic practice investigates identity and personal narrative. She has exhibited her photographs at Melrose Tiny Gallery, The Sanctuary, Cambridge Art Association, the Griffin Museum of Photography, the Khaki Gallery, and Zullo Gallery in the Boston region, the Colson Gallery in Easthampton, Massachusetts, and The Center for Fine Art Photography in Colorado, A. Smithson Gallery in Texas, as well as other venues in Boston, London, and Oxford. She has also been included in online exhibitions with “Don’t Take Pictures” and “Lenscratch.” She earned her MA in Photographic Studies from the University of Westminster in London, UK. Based in Boston Massachusetts (USA) since 2010, Julie lived in London (UK) for more than 16 years and has traveled to more than 75 countries. She lives in a multi-cultural family and travels regularly to India. Learn more about Julie’s work at www.jwkphotography.com and on Instagram.

 

 

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