photography

In conversation with Tania Rubiños

Tania’s work feels at once immediate and timeless, simultaneously personal and transcendent of the self. In a combination of analog and digital photography her work blurs the boundaries of generations, contemporary self-portraits mixing with postcards from the past. Alternatingly intimate and political, her photographs offer glimpses into captured moments of human connection - both with others and with oneself. Here, in a series of quickfire questions, she speaks to me briefly about her life, her work, and the privilege of personal choice.

Quinna Hadley (QH): Who are you and what do you do?

Tania Rubiños (TR): I'm Tania Rubiños, a woman from Oaxaca, Mexico, and I take photographs.

QH: Why do you practice photography?

TR: In order to speak through images and tell a story.

QH: When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

TR: I used to dream of becoming a veterinarian.

QH: What is your favorite book? Your favorite film?

TR: My favorite books and films are always changing, but I can share a couple that have connected with me recently. A film was "Noche de Fuego" (2021) / (Prayers for the Stolen) by Tatiana Huezo, and a book was "Final de partida" (1957) / (Endgame) by Samuel Beckett.

QH: What is the most beautiful thing in your life?

TR: Recently I have been thinking about how being able to make decisions is a privilege - and, somehow, doing so makes me feel powerful and free. So in this moment of my life, the privilege to make decisions is one of the most beautiful things I can think of.

QH: What do you love most in this world?

TR: Family, food, and walking.

QH: What is your biggest dream?

TR: To be able to keep doing art, continue with my photography, and keep learning new things.

QH: What scares you the most?

TR: Insensibility.

QH: What do you like most about yourself?

TR: I like how I question myself and constantly think about new possibilities.

QH: What does ‘success’ mean to you?

TR: Having my thoughts and actions in complete harmony.

QH: Is there a piece of wisdom or advice that you’ve received in your life that has truly helped you, that you’d like to share with others?

TR: A friend once told me, "Everyone speaks from their own experience, but it doesn't mean that that experience is going to be the same for you." I always remember this when someone tries to tell me how things are.

Tania Rubiños, Instagram: @tanrubinos, www.taniarubinos.com.

In conversation with Clara Araujo

Clara’s work is both gentle and confronting, both sensitive and cerebral. Timeless and quietly evocative, her photos have a power all their own. Here, she spoke with me about the intersections of art and psychology, the nature of photography, and keeping hope in difficult times.

Quinna Hadley (QH): Describe who you are and what you do in a couple of sentences.

Clara Araujo (CA): My name is Clara and I'm a visual artist and psychologist. I can't leave my interest in the human condition out of my photography, nor my passion for arts out of my work as a psychologist. 

QH: When did you start taking photographs, and what motivates you to continue?

CA: I started taking photos when I was about thirteen years old. What motivates me to keep going is how passionate I am about photography: it literally brings meaning into my life. It's the best way I have found to express myself, and to try and leave a mark on this world. I just can't see my life without it.

QH: What does the word sagrada (sacred) bring to mind for you?

CA: The word sagrada makes me think of tradition, spirituality, faith, and being true to what you believe in.

QH: What do you love most in this world?

CA: I honestly don't know. I guess I would say places with lots of water. Is that too weird?

QH: (No, it isn’t!) And what is bringing you joy right now?

CA: My cats. They always make my days lighter and make me smile.

QH: When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

CA: I wanted to be so many things! But my first memory related to this is a scientist – I was obsessed with the idea of being one. I remember being crazy about becoming a marine biologist. 

QH: What are five traits you would use to describe yourself?

CA: Emotional, intuitive, introverted, creative, and melancholic.

QH: What is your favorite book?

CA: 1984 by George Orwell. It's the best thing I have ever read in my life.

QH: What are your creative and/or professional goals?

CA: I have quite a few of them! I would love to have my work in more exhibitions, and hopefully have a solo gallery show someday. Another thing I really want to make in the next few years is a book. I'm looking forward to giving more photography tutoring lessons as well – I love these experiences so much.

QH: When you feel challenged, frustrated, or burned out by life, what gives you hope?

CA: This is honestly a difficult question. Since the beginning of last year, it got harder and harder for me to feel optimistic. But one thing that usually gives me hope is remembering that all things are temporary: all things must pass, including any frustration or feelings of being burned-out.

QH: Is there a piece of wisdom or advice you’ve received in your life that has been helpful to you, that you’d like to share with others?

CA: Yes. I think the best piece of wisdom I have received was from my therapist and from my mother, who both said it to me: it takes time to be experienced and outstanding at something. Most people will not have made any significant body of work or be extremely successful in their twenties, and that's absolutely fine. Building something truly great takes time, and probably a lot of it. When I start to compare myself to others or feel insecure about my achievements, I always remember this. I am young and learning every day, and I always feel like I have a lot more to learn and to experience.

QH: How have you been thinking about your photography lately?

CA: Photography to me is a way to capture life while facing our inevitable mortality. Once you press the shutter, that exact moment is gone. It no longer exists, but is forever frozen in a photograph, which can, in a way, be eternal. Today I am aware that I take photos because I know that everything we have is lost throughout our lives. I don't mean this in a sad, nihilistic way – it is just the cycle of life. In a few years, my twenties will be gone. My relatives, my friends, my cats, and everything around me will not be here forever, and I want to carry part of them with me: through the pictures I take, my memories become immortal and can be cherished again and again.

Clara Araujo, Instagram: @clarapnaraujo.

In conversation with Pedro Barcellos

Pedro was one of the first people I connected with after starting Sagrada. We exchanged messages about a vision we both shared: a desire for a return to a more natural and unfiltered photography. We spoke of the importance of community & sincerity in the creative realm, and of our mutual belief in the power of human connection.

Quinna Hadley (QH):
Describe yourself and what you do in one or two sentences.

Pedro Barcellos (PB): Describing who I am has been a tough thing lately, as I’ve always been a restless person that doesn’t know how to be alone. But finding my love for photography, especially analog, has changed me a lot – I don’t know yet who the new me is. Being a photographer for less than a year, I’m still trying to work with everything that comes my way, from editorials to planned photo-shoots.

QH:
When did you start taking photographs, and what motivates you to continue?

PB
: In November of 2019, a friend convinced me to buy an analog camera, an Olympus Trip 35. That was the first time I went out just to take pictures, and I fell in love right away. It was as if I had found something I had been looking for my entire life, even though I didn’t realize that I was looking for anything. This feeling of belonging hasn’t left, and it made me quit my old career to become a photographer.

QH:
What does the word sagrada (sacred) bring to mind for you?

PB:
I always associate the word sacred to time – I’m not sure why, but maybe because as time never goes back, every moment is sacred and unique. It’s because of this link that I consider love as the most sacred thing in my life. Every love I’ve felt has shaped the way I experience my own life. And I’m not talking only about romantic loves, but all types of love – they all define the man I am today. I know it’s a cheesy line, but I truly believe that “all you need is love”.

QH:
What do you love most in this world?

PB:
This is an easy one: hanging out with the people I love, drinking, talking, dancing, forgetting about the world out there and all its problems. This is what I enjoy the most – I would trade anything for these moments.

QH:
What is bringing you joy right now?

PB:
We are living through a very tough time here in Brazil, so it’s been difficult to find things that bring me joy. But it’s incredible seeing an idea develop on printed film. It’s gratifying to realize that you’re capable of things you never imagined – photography has meant this to me.

QH:
When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

PB: 
Maybe I’m an odd person, but I don’t remember! (laughs). Actually, I think I never made up my mind: there was always something cooler to be, so it kept changing. But I remember that most of the time, I changed my mind because of some movie I saw – I wanted to be a journalist, a rock star, a bank robber…. If the character in the movie was interesting, I wanted to be like them.


QH: What are some traits or characteristics you would use to describe yourself?

PB: I’m very sensitive, so it’s easy for me to cry or get emotional. I think this leads to the second thing, which is that I’m an empath - I find it natural to put myself in other people’s shoes. But I’m sure that my friends would say I’m very sociable, someone who loves to meet new people – which also makes me quite outgoing, not at all a homebody. I love to be out on the streets. The last thing is something new to me: I’m quite happy to note that I am becoming a good listener – I think I have learned now to really listen to others. I was always attentive to the people around me, but I didn’t really listen to them.

QH:
What is your favorite book?

PB: Tough one! I’m struggling to choose just one I love, there are so many. Can I name ten? (laughs). Jokes aside, I think it would be The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera.

QH: What are your creative and/or professional goals?

PB: Creative freedom. I want to get to a point where people who hire me are willing to give me every available resource so I can create – and for that to happen, I have to become a reference in photography.

QH: When you feel challenged, frustrated, or burned out by life, what gives you hope?

PB: I’ve never looked for hope in just one place – I think it depends on which phase of my life I’m in, and especially what the source of the challenges are. But usually, art is the one thing that saves me. It saves me in different forms – it can be a book read on the lakeside to get away from my problems, or a visit to an exhibit that opens my mind and makes me think in different ways.

QH: Is there a piece of wisdom or advice you’ve received in your life that has been helpful to you, that you’d like to share with others?

PB: Many years ago, I heard a famous quote by Nina Simone that stuck in my head and has helped me a lot: “You have to learn to get up from the table when love is no longer being served”.

Pedro Barcellos, Instagram: @pedro.barcellos

In conversation with Lichtkammer

Lichtkammer is a Montréal-based photography duo comprising of German-born Nanne Springer and French-Canadian Frédéric Arthur Chabot. They spoke to me about their work, their collaborative practice, and a few things they love.

Quinna Hadley (QH): Who are you and where are you from?

Frédéric Arthur Chabot (F): I’m Frédéric. I was born in Montréal, grew up in the country, and then moved back to Montréal.

Nanne Springer (N): My name is Nanne. I am originally from Germany, but about ten years ago I moved to Canada, and now I also live in Montréal.

QH: What is Lichtkammer?

F/N: Because we both have the same focus in photography, share the same process, and consider a photograph something handheld and handmade, we started Lichtkammer together two years ago. We seek honesty, closeness, and a return to these things. Our work is a result of collaborating with each other, with others, and with nature. Lichtkammer is a home of sorts – it is where we collect and show our printed work. In our home we have a darkroom where light is the determining factor. We set up for six to eight hours a day in that corner, to gather on paper what we want to say in any given week. That is where the name Lichtkammer first made sense – translated from German it means the opposite of darkroom: it means a chamber of light.

QH: What does the word sagrada (sacred) mean to you?

F/N: It is that sacred space – of people, of moments. Not just ours, but a stepping into the sacred space of others. To be honest and trustworthy enough to enter these hidden landscapes, as well as letting others walk into ours: a ritual of exchange.

QH: What do you love most in this world?

F: Outside. The wind. The first.

N: My family. To be myself wherever I stretch.

QH: What is bringing you joy right now?

F: Right now, I would say words.

N: Right now, building boxes and sowing fiber.

QH: What did you want to be when you were a child?

F: A treasure hunter. (Nanne laughs and says: Well, you are.)

N: A blacksmith – wie mein Papa.

Lichtkammer (Insagram: @lichtkammer): Nanne Springer (@nanne.springer); Frédéric Arthur Chabot (@fredericarthurchabot). www.lichtkammer.com