Where the Light Shines First is an ongoing series that focuses on the renegotiation of my relationship to Newfoundland’s rural environment. As a young person growing up in St. John’s, I felt the limitations of living in an isolated environment and was eager to leave after the death of my father. I saw little opportunity for myself and left to study photography at Toronto Metropolitan University. Once living in a congested city I was confronted with a form of urban isolation, being surrounded by millions and feeling disconnected. I felt that I had lost part of my cultural identity and whenever I return to Newfoundland I feel as though I am a visitor, although I still consider it home. I began to realize how strongly I identify with Newfoundland culture and its rural lifestyle. Each time I return I use the camera as a means to reconnect with what I left behind while documenting the Newfoundland landscape post cod moratorium.
This work begins on Bell Island, Newfoundland where my father lived until he was ten. I became interested in the relationship between memory and place, moving throughout the landscape questioning whether or not my father once stood where I stood and wondering if I could learn things about him through place. I experienced a similar weight while observing parts of Newfoundland that were impacted by abandoned industries and were suffering from economic decline. This project explores both personal and communal loss, probing sites of influence that helped shape the contemporary identities of people and communities in Newfoundland.
