Snapshots and Perspectives: Unpacking Three Captivating Exhibitions at The Griffin Museum

By Lauren Kaufman

An examination of three photographic exhibitions — two of which illuminate personal and political issues.

Bridget Jourgensen: Homeshadows; Camille Farrah Lenain: Made of Smokeless Fire; Winter Solstice 2024, available at the Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, through January 5, 2025

The rise of the smartphone camera has transformed everyone into photographers. It’s straightforward to capture moments of our lives with our devices, as most individuals carry one constantly. The latest generation of smartphone cameras produces images of incredible sharpness, allowing us to crop shots, alter brightness, and adjust colors in a matter of seconds.

Camille Farrah Lenain, Bouchta’s Mirror, 2020. Photo: courtesy of the Griffin Museum of Photography

So, where does all this innovation position photography as a form of art? Despite rapid technological advancements, photography continues to be a valid artistic endeavor. Art institutions still provide photography classes, and galleries persist in collecting and showcasing photographs. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston prominently features photography in the Herb Ritts Gallery, displaying works by photographers worldwide.

Travel 20 minutes beyond the city to reach The Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA. You may not be acquainted with the Griffin Museum, but if photography captivates you, the visit is worthwhile. The museum is situated within a modest structure on a side road, offering ample free parking, with admission costing $9 and reduced to $5 for seniors.

The museum is currently presenting three exhibitions — two of which underscore the work of artists utilizing their cameras to highlight personal and political themes.

Camille Farrah Lenain, a French-Algerian documentary photographer, has been awarded the 2024 Arnold Newman Prize for ‘New Directions in Photographic Portraiture.’ Newman (1918—2006) gained recognition as a photographer who pioneered environmental portraiture, a genre wherein the subjects’ surroundings reveal essential details about their lives and work.

In the Griffin’s exhibition, Made of Smokeless Fire, Lenain dedicates a sequence of images to her deceased uncle, a queer Muslim who was diagnosed with HIV and passed away in 2013. Although no images of her Uncle Farid are present, the exhibition highlights portraits of gay Muslims facing their intricate identities. The outcomes are poignant as they evoke the distressing experiences of individuals whose families, nations, and faiths may alienate them due to their sexual orientation.

Camille Farrah Lenain, Lalla Rami, Boulogne, 2020. Photo: courtesy of the Griffin Museum of Photography.

It’s crucial to reflect on the challenges faced by queer individuals in many Muslim nations. In Brunei, Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and certain northern regions of Nigeria, acts of same-sex intimacy can result in the death penalty. Male same-sex relations are illegal and can lead to imprisonment in Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates. Though being gay is not a crime in Jordan and Turkey, many queer Muslims globally endure significant hostility and discrimination.

Lenain focuses her lens on LGBTQIA+ Muslims residing in France. The textual description notes that there is a substantial Muslim demographic in France—over 5 ½ million individuals. Yet, despite their substantial presence, Muslims continue to experience islamophobia in the nation. Confronting discrimination on various levels — sexual orientation, gender identity, and racism — many queer Muslims resort to concealing their identities. Lenain conveys that her photographs delve into the traumatic effects of this silence on the community.

In A., Marseille, Lenain has created a partially obscured portrait along with a label quoting the subject: “This same fear of hell to say: are we still on the right path, are we not kindling the wrath of God?” The internal struggle articulated in this remark, paired with the concealed face, powerfully expresses the conflicted emotions experienced by the subject as a queer Muslim.

In Bouchta’s Mirror, a man, enveloped by a pink veil, gazes at the camera. While we can discern his eyes, the opaque portrait signifies the subject’s necessity to hide his identity. Perhaps the subject fears for his safety and hesitates to be photographed more openly?

In a more candid portrait, Lalla Rami, Boulogne, we observe a trans woman lounging in the grass, dressed in a crop top and shorts, her long, manicured nails on display. The accompanying label states, “It is through the eyes of others that you can tell that I am a trans, Moroccan and Muslim woman, or whatever the hell you perceive. But to myself, I’m just a fierce girl named Lalla Rami.”

Bridget Jourgensen, Headshot, 2021. Photo: courtesy of the Griffin Museum of Photography.

Lenain’s artwork is presented in a compact room that also accommodates the museum’s library. The closeness of the space allows for an intimate viewing experience of the photographs.

The pictures are not framed and secured to the walls with thumbtacks. There’s a certain rawness and immediacy in their presentation that invites observers to connect with the visuals.

The second showcase, Homeshadows, features the creations of Bridget Jourgensen, recipient of the 2024 John Chervinsky Emerging Artist Scholarship. John Chervinsky (1961—2015) was an engineer who operated a particle accelerator at Harvard University and was an autodidact photographer. The initial display of his work took place at the Griffin Museum; the scholarship was established following Chervinsky’s passing as a method to assist and promote emerging photographers.

In this collection, Jourgensen, a resident of Rhode Island, captures pictures of light and shadow within her new residence during the Covid lockdown. In her narrative, she shares that she had recently relocated to a new place and was spending considerable time in solitude. She refers to this body of work as a study of solitude. The images are ethereal interpretations of mundane existence. In Doorway, the light filters through the window panes of a doorway. In Headshot, Jourgensen includes herself in the photograph by capturing her reflection on the wall.

Collectively, the images delve into the everyday splendor of our internal landscapes, a charm of the commonplace that is all too simple to overlook. Isolated in her new residence, during a time when most of us were in seclusion, Jourgensen utilized her camera to seize the beautiful patterns that sunlight cast upon the walls of her home.

The concluding exhibition, Winter Solstice 2024, encompasses over 200 photographs captured by the Griffin Member Community. In this non-juried display, unframed images are secured to the wall with binder clips, yet the informal arrangement does not lessen the excellence of the artwork. There are numerous stunning visuals of trees, foliage, mountains, coastlines, architecture, animals, and individuals. The photographs are classified by subject matter, and they’re all available for purchase. To make the artwork accessible, the museum has established a price cap of $250. If you’re looking for a last-minute holiday present for an art enthusiast, you’ll discover many remarkable options here within the $100-$200 range.

Lauren Kaufmann has been involved in the museum sector for the last 14 years and has organized several exhibitions. She acted as guest curator for Moving Water: From Ancient Innovations to Modern Challenges, currently displayed at the Metropolitan Waterworks Museum in Boston.