Shane Hallinan: The 2025 Salon Jane Award Winner

Shane Hallinan lately was awarded The 2025 Salon Jane Award Winner for Women in Photography by way of the Center of Photographic Art‘s International Juried Exhibition.

Jane Olin of Salon Jane states: In the spirit of giving again, Salon members created an annual Salon Jane Award for a Woman Photographer.  We are devoted to supporting ladies photographers with this award and to assist amplify their visible voices.

Cig Harvey, juror for the exhibition who chosen Hallinan for the awards states: There is an vitality in Shane’s work that haunts me. Her pictures possess an intimacy that calls for consideration. It is the proximity of the digicam to topic, the colour, the framing, and the gestures. I can’t look away.

Thirty 5 years in the past, when Shane Hallinan started to doc her life and buddies, there was no web, no e-mail, no instagram, no solution to simply keep in contact, and extra importantly, to recollect. Fortunately Halliman had a digicam. The work is greater than documentation of her previous, it’s a report of non-public, generational, and historic private moments. She states: It was a transitional time and a lot of the footage within the e book are themselves transitions: preparing, getting dressed, ready. Now that I’m older, I’ve accepted that we’re continually remodeling however the transition from youngster to grownup in my early twenties has been like nothing I ever skilled once more. I’m grateful to have these footage and in some methods it has helped me make sense of all of it.

G: The genesis of this work has completely different instances, are you able to inform me concerning the two moments? How did you determine to select up these rolls of movie that advised of a life locked in a drawer? What was the urgency?

S: I’m actually glad we met and completely happy that you simply related with the e book. I really like that you’re highlighting the shut feminine friendships. Most of the ladies within the e book I met between the ages of 5 and fourteen and are nonetheless in my life to at the present time. Those friendships have been extremely vital to me and are on the coronary heart of the e book. In 1994, I wished to be a photojournalist however I wished to work on a undertaking the place I might be a lady photographing ladies her identical age, my group, and documenting relationships I cared extra about than any {photograph}. Thankfully my closest buddies had been supportive and let me experiment. The belief I used to be given, and the unguarded and sometimes weak moments they allowed me to {photograph}, made the work extra intimate and private then I had initially imagined. I spotted there was one thing particular right here, and commenced what finally became a ten yr undertaking, and finally my e book You’ve liked me earlier than. I needed to cease in 2004 with the beginning of my second son and the realities of my tough marriage. Shortly after, I discovered myself solely chargeable for two younger sons and all the pieces at the moment I deemed non important was boxed and saved. I by no means forgot the undertaking, it was just like the Tell-Tale Heart – I might hear it beating. But it wasn’t till my oldest went to school and my sons had been navigating a parallel interval of improvement that I couldn’t wait any longer. I began with bins of prints I had made within the 90s after which moved to negatives. Honestly, at first it was painful trying on the photos; it jogged my memory of the countless period of time we had been capable of spend collectively, and in addition my youthful expectations for the long run. It took a number of years of scanning to uncover the entire story and in that point I developed a long way from the work. Eventually, I might see the e book as a doc of our twenties and a extra common coming of age story. It was a transitional time and a lot of the footage within the e book are themselves transitions: preparing, getting dressed, ready. Now that I’m older, I’ve accepted that we’re continually remodeling however the transition from youngster to grownup in my early twenties has been like nothing I ever skilled once more. I’m grateful to have these footage and in some methods it has helped me make sense of all of it.

G. How many rolls of movie, what number of photographs did you could have, what was the narrative line that led you to the ultimate sequence of the e book?

S. I’ve virtually 10,000 rolls of each black and white and shade movie taken over that 10 yr interval. When I graduated in 1997 I ended having prepared entry to a darkroom and for some time was capable of hire time to make contact sheets however finally ran out of time and cash for printing. In 2018 I took some courses on the San Francisco Art Institute and discovered how you can scan. It was the primary time I had seen a few of these photos. It took about three and a half years to scan all the pictures whereas working full time. Surprisingly, that turned out to be the straightforward half.

When I used to be taking the photographs, I wished to share my expertise of what it was wish to be within the room as honestly as doable. When I used to be photographing I made lots of guidelines for myself: no flash, no added lights, I by no means moved any objects or individuals, by no means requested anybody to decelerate, or do it once more. If I missed the shot, I missed it! Even although I used to be the photographer I by no means felt in cost, I felt like I used to be watching life unfold and responding to it. So when it was time to edit, it required a extra directorial position and I struggled with that. I struggled with what must be mentioned and what must be stored non-public, whether or not I ought to embrace outdated letters and ephemera, embrace black and white and shade pictures collectively, construction the e book from day to nighttime, or observe particular person individuals’s tales like chapters. I felt caught. Once once more I used to be impressed and inspired by buddies, this time different photographers to maintain going. It was at certainly one of these critiques I met Nelson Chan for the primary time.

Nelson, who’s one half of TIS Books, a trainer, and a formidable photographer in his personal proper, spoke about my work and the hairs on my neck rose. He was saying issues I felt however had struggled to place into phrases about this work, and I knew he understood what I used to be attempting to do. Eventually, I requested Nelson to attempt an edit, and his second edit could be very near the e book we made. We labored collectively at that time, buying and selling photos and adjusting the order. I contemplate this e book a real collaboration and it might not be the identical with out his enter. Having him make the preliminary edit allowed me the house I wanted to lastly be capable to let the work go.

G. I, too, after I was in school, liked to take footage, however the group of buddies I used to be hanging out with, now all well-known writers, used to inform me that I couldn’t encapsulate life in an image, {that a} {photograph} was incomparable to the ability of the phrase, once we would in the future inform the story, and so I ended up not taking footage, which is why your work strikes me much more, since you’ve been there and also you’ve taken footage persistently. And despite the fact that it’s your story, for me it turns into the story of all of us, of these years of youth and feminine friendship. A singular complicity, generally ambiguous, adolescent, however perpetually with us. 

S. I really like that! I’m so grateful that this report exists. Looking at this work now within the context of so many voices documenting their very own communities and experiences, it doesn’t appear uncommon. In the early 90s there appeared to be just a few publishers and some  photographers, even fewer of them ladies and of these ladies even much less telling tales about ladies and their on a regular basis existence.  Some of the books popping out now are filling in these gaps due to course there have been many feminine photographers and other people of shade photographing at the moment who weren’t capable of get their work out to bigger audiences till extra lately. I believe it’s very thrilling to have a extra in depth photographic report.  In school I heard Deborah Willis converse concerning the significance of photographic illustration and I grew to become conscious of how the pictures we take create a photographic historical past past our personal comprehension. Listening to her made me conscious of my accountability for the pictures I put into this world and at that time I made a decision I might solely {photograph} individuals and locations I loved- that I wished to make everlasting and actual. That need compelled me to proceed with this undertaking even after I had no concept if anybody would ever see it.

G. On web page 5 there’s a self-portrait of you, did you could have others? It’s a self-portrait of you, however even right here you appear to contain the viewer instantly, it appears with that direct look into the digicam that you’re asking for a first-person participation.

S. It’s humorous that you simply point out that picture. When Nelson agreed to assist me edit the e book he came visiting and went by way of my ENTIRE lightroom catalog. Later once we had been speaking he advised me he wish to embrace an image of me. I used to be confused, and advised him I don’t take self portraits so it in all probability wasn’t me. When he despatched me the picture I knew the precise second I took it and why. It was August in New York and I awoke and my hair seemed good. This was vital each as a result of it was August in New York, and since I largely grew up with my single dad and by no means had confidence in my potential to manage my hair. I wasn’t planning on seeing any buddies that day and was satisfied they wouldn’t consider me with out photographic proof. Because I solely had a handbook digicam, I centered on the wallpaper in my bed room and held the digicam out as nonetheless as I might. I’m so grateful to Nelson for drawing my consideration to a photograph I might positively have forgotten, and serving to me acknowledge myself within the work. Maybe as a result of I didn’t assume I photographed myself, I didn’t initially think about myself within the pictures, however I felt a accountability to be included. In earlier edits I used to be attempting to discover other ways of being current. I spent lots of time poring over Growing up feminine, a private photo-journal by Abigail Heyman and What She Said by Deanna Templeton as highly effective examples of photographers who make themselves extra weak than their topics. Their honesty provides a lot complexity to the pictures in these books and I believe they’re vital books to have a look at. Ultimately the image of me trying instantly into the digicam crammed within the lacking piece and helped acknowledge my position because the digicam within the narrative.

G. Many of my closest buddies I’ve met throughout my school years, and though a few of us now not dwell in Italy, we at all times attempt to meet yearly. I’m now considering of 1 specific individual I had misplaced monitor of and have met once more in an unimaginable manner: I used to be visiting a home on the market (out of the town, up within the hills) and she or he was the proprietor! Since then, she has rejoined our group. Has this work made you rediscover friendships that had been misplaced alongside the way in which?

S. When I used to be taking these footage I might inform my buddies that it was going to be a e book however sooner or later I misplaced religion. Actually publishing this e book modified me. It was a promise I stored to myself, and it freed me from any frustration concerning the decisions I had made since that point. It was superb to have the ability to say thirty years later, it’s occurring. I reached out to inform them the information and in addition wished to listen to how they felt concerning the footage I deliberate to make use of. The responses had been all optimistic, and the photographs introduced up lots of recollections. Catching up and hanging out, it was apparent I wasn’t the one one who missed on a regular basis we spent collectively. My sons had moved out virtually two years in the past, and I found lots of my buddies had been experiencing one thing comparable and wanting extra connection. At this stage of our lives we will truly make time to spend collectively, and discovering that out was yet one more reward from this undertaking.

G. Another factor I actually appreciated is recognising the telephone cubicles, the landline, the sitting calls, the hours spent within the kitchen with the teas, glasses of wine, beer and cigarettes, and people strawberries within the sink with a free affiliation harking back to The Place of Strawberry, right here the place of strawberries is the sink, the place in truth a lot of the time of our sight, spins, the place we wash, cook dinner, however the strawberries right here don’t characterize childhood, however youth in its potential turning into and your e book additionally tells about that as a result of then we now have a pregnant buddy and a bit of lady doing a wheel and life appears to me to spin endlessly.

G.For you that image of strawberries was an aesthetic alternative or does it have a symbolic worth?

S. I at all times hope that the photographs are visually compelling, however why an image made it into the e book is as a result of it hopefully communicates on two ranges. Phone cubicles had been completely crucial at the moment however additionally they signify reaching out and attempting to attach. The strawberries my buddy had been washing within the sink, earlier than she received distracted, seemed vibrant and vigorous, however the sink seemed worn and previous its prime. The discolored sink and rusty drain solely made the strawberries look extra lovely and momentary. I’m glad that you simply acknowledged the cycles on this e book – I believe the thought of spinning is an effective one. The last picture is of a buddy explaining how you can learn our palms. It was a second in my life after I was on the lookout for indicators and attempting to determine how life would unfold. It’s additionally a picture I took very early within the undertaking, and possibly why I really feel it’s extra a starting than an finish. We spent lots of time selecting a last picture – one which wouldn’t make you wish to shut the e book, however as an alternative begin once more. It’s as much as the viewer to determine if we achieved our purpose however that was the hope.

G.To shut I wish to know what you might be engaged on?

S. I’ve two tasks that I’ve completed taking pictures and I hope will sometime see the sunshine of day. The first is the black and white photos I shot similtaneously my present e book. The photographs are a unique view of that very same interval and present extra bodily contact, connection, and the households. The second undertaking is each shade and black and white of my sister from age 5 until thirty-one, and culminates together with her giving beginning at dwelling. You’ve truly seen my sister as a result of she is in three photographs in You’ve Loved Me Before. She’s the one cartwheeling. And then presently, I’m centered on photographing my two sons who’re 20 and 24, and dwell subsequent door to one another a couple of half mile from me. I’m nonetheless fascinated by that point interval from adolescence to “adulthood,” when all the pieces appears so vital and unresolved. Despite being boys and coming of age within the post-Covid digital period, the method of turning into themselves is surprisingly comparable. Like we did, they’re exploring their identities and determining who they’re by way of their closest relationships. They are letting me report the method, and I’m honored and excited watching it occur.

Shane Hallinan is a photographer situated in Berkeley, California. A graduate of RISD, and a devoted analog photographer for the final 35 years. Hallinan focuses on each her household of origin and chosen household. She primarily explores the complexities of rising up feminine and the bonds of friendship solid alongside the way in which. Her debut monograph You’ve liked me earlier than was revealed by TIS books in 2024.

Instagram: @shane_hallinan_photo

Gaia Giani, is a visible artist, artistic producer and curator based mostly in Milan, Italy.

She has a level in philosophy and wrote her thesis on Pina Bausch’s dance theater. She is educated as a visible artist, and works in varied mediums, together with video, images, sound and efficiency. The thematic heart of her work is intimist poetics and its relation to panorama and reminiscence. Her work has been offered in quite a few solo and group exhibitions. In 2023, she created the sound efficiency Die Wald Liste, in collaboration with musician Margareth Kammerer (official premiere September 29, 2024, as a part of BAW – Bolzen Art WeeK), produced in affiliation with Lungomare Bolzano, a part of FLUX. An open rehearsal occurred in October 2023 at CLER, Milan. In 2022, Attraversare, a brief movie set in Pollino Park in Basilicata, a dream narrative composed of collective recollections and advised in Albanian, was offered at MUSME, Matera. In 2020, 132 Moons, Festival Filmmaker, was broadcast at Fuori Orario, RAI TRE. Her 2019 quick movie, You Sleep Like a Stone, a single steady shot of a stroll in Ticino Park, premiered at BX Gallery Belfast, Filmmaker Festival, and CLER gallery. The Unknown Zone – Childhood (2017), screened at Cinema Cineteca Oberdan, Beltrade. The Unknown Zone is a documentary concerning the thriller of childhood set in a small Montessori college. In 2015, Gaia made the documentary Solo, about a few French dancers, the Dupuys, through which she investigates the connection between life and dance.

Instagram: @gaiagiani

ABOUT Salon Jane
Salon Jane is a six-member artist collective fashioned in Monterey, in 2014. Over the previous 10 years, the members of Salon Jane have created an intimate bond, facilitating a secure and provoking setting for his or her creative risk-taking and inventive evolution. At their common conferences, they share suggestions about their work by way of hours of in-depth dialogue and maintain house for art-related life challenges.

The Monterey Peninsula has a protracted custom of straight images set forth by Edward Weston, Ansel Adams and others. However, the artists of Salon Jane inhabit an island of innovation that pushes towards these strict boundaries. Each member artist nods to
images however expands on it in numerous and sudden methods. From aerial to underwater, summary to representational, digital to darkroom, wall artwork to books, the work produced by these artists is huge ranging. In content material and course of, every artist’s work transcends the bizarre and faucets into thriller. While they’ve advanced past formal straight images, the members are equally involved with creative and photographic excellence and are grounded in historic processes.

Salon Jane shortly developed into a gaggle of exhibiting artists. Their first exhibition was at Green Chalk Gallery in Monterey in 2015 and was adopted by 4 distinctive exhibitions by way of 2022. In 2018, Salon Jane grew to become a significant a part of the Monterey Museum of Art’s Year of the Woman with their exhibition, The Ethereal Zone. In early 2021, the group exhibited work made throughout the pandemic on the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel, with a present titled Present Tense. Each exhibit has been absolutely supported by Salon
 member displays, demonstrations, and discussions.

Salon Jane is honored to current its ten-year celebration exhibit on the Carl Cherry Center for the Arts, an vital a part of Carmel’s creative historical past and tradition, set in a significant area of images.