Deb Wallwork at the Rourke

By Kris Groberg
Contributing Writer

Deb Wallwork’s photographic adventures in Ottertail County are among those eloquently presented in this exhibition, which is a retrospective of images shot during the last ten years. Those of us who have grown up around the Minnesota lakes, or who inhabit them now, will recognize their own shared moments among the photographs.

It would not be fair to describe this exhibition as purely nostalgic, however, in part because Wallwork has a fresh take on remembered icons. She appears, in some form, in many of the photographs—as a shadow, a hand, or a blurred face in the rearview mirror of a car. She refers to this as “the presence of the unseen photographer.”

Her “signature” presents (what could be, but what are not) favorite snapshots in a critical light and gives them an edge that is reflective of the artist’s general sense of how to direct an image without allowing it to become trite. The artist’s vision is thoughtful and elegant, as are
her photographs.

“Paradise” is the perfect title for the exhibition. “Pleasure can be radical,” says Wallwork. “Doing things deliberately, talking a walk, cooking from scratch, planting a garden or swapping stories—in a sped-up culture—is an act of resistance.”

I quite agree. I responded immediately to two of the images. “Swamp Princess, Ottertail County,” for its iconic image of the underside of a painted box turtle, held before the camera by the photographer’s hand. The turtle’s vibrant oval carapace hangs off-center, while the picture plane is skewed so that the photographer’s index finger is set at the same angle as the taut head
of the turtle.

Such an approach forces the viewer’s eye to adjust to the clarity of the central image, pulling it forward just enough to make us realize that we are not seeing a quick digital shot. For the photographer, however, the approach comes naturally. She sees that it’s funny, maybe even ironic.

What she maybe sees first is the way the turtle’s eyes, even as it resists being held, slide slightly back toward her hand. Who hasn’t picked up a turtle at the lakes? They all do the same thing. The first thing they try to do is get away, but at the same time they seem sardonically fascinated by meeting a bigger set of eyes.

I responded just as rapidly to the photograph of part of a stain-glassed window, that Wallwork shot in St. Pantaleimon’s Russian Orthodox Church in Minneapolis. I knew it immediately because this is one of my favorite places in the Twin Cities. The church is tiny, looks ancient (although 1956), and seems totally out of place in its residential neighborhood, which is neither Russian nor particularly religious.

The photograph is of an eye set into the window as a highly-colored oval, its colors as lapidary as those of the turtle’s underside. It is the Eye of God, a symbol of the omniscience of the creator, who watches over everything and everyone. The symbol’s presence is rare in an Orthodox church because it is both historically recent and it is associated with Freemasonry and its relationship to Egyptian magic (which is suspect in the eyes of the Church).

The rarity of the icon makes it as ironic as the box turtle’s eye. Both of them find themselves framed in an odd setting; we are not entirely sure how much either of them can really see when they look back at us. I was drawn quickly into the church, with its thick incense and rich iconographic atmosphere, by Wallwork’s image. I could almost smell it. Just as I could almost smell the lake in “Swamp Princess, Ottertail County.” This is the most that a photographer can expect to draw from her audience: to have a photograph pull them directly into memory or a visceral response.

Wallwork describes herself as “just an artist” who was honored to create the photographs and curate them for the Rourke Gallery. It is the first time that she has shown her work in the Fargo-Moorhead area in ten years.

“I’m trying to play with landscape and photography in a way that is new and interesting and somewhat humorous and ironical, but with a certain depth,” she says. She accomplishes her goal. This exhibition comes highly recommended.

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If You Go

What: Deb Wallwork, “Paradise”
Where: Rourke Art Gallery
When: Sunday, Aug 22 2-5 PM for the gallery talk.
Info: 218.236.8861