honorable mention
cecilia borgenstam united states
title
Here/Note Here
Here/Not Here is a documentation of abandoned homeless camps in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park (CA), a destination for a large population of transient people in one of the US' self-proclaimed sanctuary cities. The definition of “transience”, a word used to replace the term “homeless”, is “short-lived” or “a state of briefness”, but the state of transience in this context is anything but brief, and the visual topography is sadly universal.
When a person in transience move on from their temporary shelter, ordinary day to day objects are left to interact with the natural elements of the park, where the cold pacific coast fog and strong winds make their own mark on the rugged terrain. The material impermanence of these dystopian still-lives that morph over time with the landscape, speak of long-term exposure, vulnerability, and relentless determination. They remind us of the discrepancy between our obsession with materialism and consideration for those around us. These imprints of human interactions and discarded objects are metaphors for the physical and tangible existence of those living behind the definition of “transience”.
I have been photographing these scenes for the past 18 months, and will continue to do so since substance abuse, mental or physical decline or financial instability, continue to displace people all over the country. A percentage of print sales will always be donated to the Larkin Street Youth Services, an organization striving to support young homeless people in San Francisco since 1984.
Her work has been exhibited in shows nationwide and has been the juror's selection in exhibitions by Ann Jastrab, Elizabeth Ferrer and Jack Fulton, Stephen Perloff and Millee Tibbs. In 2017, she was in the jury's selection at the Piedmont Center for the Arts 5th Annual Art Show (curated by Carin Adams and Jenny Gheith). She was awarded 3rd place in the Paul Sack Building competition in 2014 and an honorable mention in 2015.
She’s currently working as Richard Misrach’s studio manager and dedicating the rest of her time to her own photo-based projects. Her latest body of work is exploring the disconnect between materialism and physical vulnerability through a documentation of the transient camps in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
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entry description
Statement:Here/Not Here is a documentation of abandoned homeless camps in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park (CA), a destination for a large population of transient people in one of the US' self-proclaimed sanctuary cities. The definition of “transience”, a word used to replace the term “homeless”, is “short-lived” or “a state of briefness”, but the state of transience in this context is anything but brief, and the visual topography is sadly universal.
When a person in transience move on from their temporary shelter, ordinary day to day objects are left to interact with the natural elements of the park, where the cold pacific coast fog and strong winds make their own mark on the rugged terrain. The material impermanence of these dystopian still-lives that morph over time with the landscape, speak of long-term exposure, vulnerability, and relentless determination. They remind us of the discrepancy between our obsession with materialism and consideration for those around us. These imprints of human interactions and discarded objects are metaphors for the physical and tangible existence of those living behind the definition of “transience”.
I have been photographing these scenes for the past 18 months, and will continue to do so since substance abuse, mental or physical decline or financial instability, continue to displace people all over the country. A percentage of print sales will always be donated to the Larkin Street Youth Services, an organization striving to support young homeless people in San Francisco since 1984.
about the photographer
Cecilia Borgenstam is a Swedish-born artist based in San Francisco. She received a BA in Literature and Cultural Studies from the University of Lund, Sweden, and her MFA in photography from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2015.Her work has been exhibited in shows nationwide and has been the juror's selection in exhibitions by Ann Jastrab, Elizabeth Ferrer and Jack Fulton, Stephen Perloff and Millee Tibbs. In 2017, she was in the jury's selection at the Piedmont Center for the Arts 5th Annual Art Show (curated by Carin Adams and Jenny Gheith). She was awarded 3rd place in the Paul Sack Building competition in 2014 and an honorable mention in 2015.
She’s currently working as Richard Misrach’s studio manager and dedicating the rest of her time to her own photo-based projects. Her latest body of work is exploring the disconnect between materialism and physical vulnerability through a documentation of the transient camps in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
back to gallery