 |
||||||
|
PHIL BORGES
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE Landscapes of the Soul Exhibition Dates: May 18 - June 20, 2001 |
||||||
| For a quarter of a century, Seattle-based Phil Borges has traveled to remote parts of the world photographing people of vastly different backgrounds and cultures, actively working to raise awareness about numerous human rights issues. His intimate, split-toned portraits have been exhibited internationally, allowing viewers a glimpse into the daily lives and struggles of native peoples. "In spite of our physical and cultural differences," Borges tells us through his work, "we are all, in a very basic sense, alike." Borges' work follows the classic tradition of masters of portrait photography like Edward S. Curtis, Richard Avedon, and Irving Penn. While dramatically isolating his subjects with lighting and toning, Borges does not romanticize them, but strives for complete authenticity. His portraits are always deeply personal, describing the way life and weather have etched a human face and hands, the garments and ornaments specific to a culture, and the unique environments in which people live. Using an innovative technique, Borges sepia tones his silver print photographs in areas where flesh shows, giving the hands and faces of his subjects a striking warmth and presence against the otherwise cool black and white tones. Throughout the world, shamans have a special relationship with the earth, believing that it is home to spiritual powers that can aid humans. As they communicate with this realm, shamans put their patients in touch with spirits in the land that can cure maladies of many kinds. Borges has traveled to Siberia, Mongolia, the Philippines, into the Amazon jungles in search of shamans. Photographing these remarkable people is only part of his work; through interviews he documents their journey of becoming shamans (a calling that often begins with symptoms much like schizophrenia), and collects descriptions about their tribal beliefs. On exhibit at Andrew Smith Gallery are portraits taken in Tibet, Peru, the Amazon Basin, the Philippines, Mongolia, and Kenya. In 1994 Borges traveled to northern India to photograph Tibetan refugees, almost all of whom had been imprisoned, tortured, or seen their loved ones killed. Despite their harrowing experiences, Borges was struck by the Tibetans' remarkable lightness and joy sustained by their Buddhist beliefs. The culture's strength is epitomized in Borges' arresting portrait of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, Tenzin Gyatso. The spiritual leader looms in front of a snow covered mountain range, regarding the viewer with an expression of tenacity and wisdom, while holding a Tibetan rosary in his hands. In Mongolia, Borges photographed a barefoot three year old boy named Batdalai standing next to tethered reindeer. Holding one finger, the boy is more wary of the unfamiliar camera than of the large animals behind him. Mimi of Yavella, Ethiopia, looks far older than her eight years. She is one of five children in her family, and spends her days collecting firewood and water. She yearns to go to school, but knows that while her brothers may go, her help is crucial to family survival. At six, Kinesi, who lives with his semi nomadic family in Kenya, is already taking care of the family goats. He sometimes walks alone nearly four hours through territory filled with baboons and leopards to get to the only school in the district. Laya rests his whiskered chin on a staff and beams at the camera, looking not much older than some of the children Borges has photographed. It is startling to realize the Filipino man with the puckish expression is eighty-one. Recently, Borges was invited to photograph medical work being done by Interplast, Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides free reconstructive surgery for needy children around the world. Traveling to Peru and Vietnam, Borges photographed doctors as they treated children for burns, mouth deformities, and crippling injuries. A touching photograph on exhibit shows a young mother named Leonardia cuddling her young son, José Luis, whose upper lip is disfigured. Because Quechua beliefs attribute harelips to the sins of the mother, Leonardia has had to bear both guilt and sadness for her child's deformity. It seemed like a miracle when a team of Interplast doctors arrived in Cuzco and performed the relatively simple operation to repair José's lip. Phil Borges' books include Tibetan Portrait: The Power of Compassion (Rizzoli, 1996), Enduring Spirit (for Amnesty International) (Rizzoli, 1998), and The Gift (Interplast, Inc. 2000). The award-winning artist has been chapter president of the American Society of Media Photographers, and received the Photo Media's Person of the Year Award in 1997. |
||||||
| Home | Artists | Shows | Links | Contact |