Episode 4: Untitled Photograph by Cami D. Egurrola
Transcription:
Håfa Adai Cami D. Egurrola. Hello I’m Cami, I use pronouns she/her and I am a Chamorro photographer that focuses on environmental portraits and landscapes and I am currently on the island of Guåhan in the Mariana Islands. [MUSIC]
I identify as an Indigenous Chamorro and I am also half Filipino. Some of the identities that are in my art mainly come from my background as being born and raised on the island of Guåhan, known as Güam as well. I am a first generation on my dad's side. I am also the eldest daughter of 5 and I am the eldest granddaughter on my mom's side— my mom's clan— and that is a major part of how I identify within my community here on island.
A major theme in my work is most obviously the location. All my photos are taken on the island I was raised in ,Guåhan and, um, [SOUNDS OF WATER] there is a lot of intention with the subjects that I choose and the locations that I choose. I am based on the island I was raised in and I've always had the intention of staying here and creating my art here. I think another way that intention shows up in these themes is the way in which I photograph. I do try to take a more laid-back approach and more documentarian style approach in my pre-production work, but in-post I do try to kind of emulate themes in my head that I associate with this sort of romanticized version of where I'm from.
Another major theme that I think is most prevalent in my work is the idea of people moving within the environment. A lot of my work is taken with wider angle lenses and in terms of scale like you see the subjects being a little bit smaller in the frame rather than being up close and larger in the frame. So I think just the idea of highlighting and exposing, you know, some stories about the people of my island that I feel needs to be talked about rather than glorifying things that are usually synonymous to island life and rather than romanticizing all of the things that outsiders like to place upon us, I like to highlight the aspects of my childhood that I've romanticized and learned to love and learn to embrace as I've gotten older.
This image is untitled but has so much significance to my personal art portfolio. This is one of my favorite images I've taken. So this image was taken in one of the southern villages of Humatak. Humatak Bay is more commonly known as the landing, the landing bay for Magellan when he came through the Northern Mariana Islands and this is quite an interesting historical place in terms of the Chamorro people's history and the way that the Spanish and other colonial entities have interacted with our people. That's kind of like the historical context of this location. In the background this photo is kind of split up in two parts. [SOUND OF WAVES] So the upper half is this lush green background with some structures in the back which is a cemetery and in our islands we honour our dead by constructing these, you know, elaborate tombstones and crypts and places for our dead to rest with amazing views of our island. I can see this one and I can say there are at least three other cemeteries with an ocean view that overlooks the water and beautiful places and gives our dead a beautiful place to rest. And then on the bottom half you see three surfers, three local surfers on a party wave. [SOUND OF WAVES AND GROOVY MUSIC] And this wave is pretty special because this was taken in the aftermath of a typhoon that came in from the Philippines and so this shore break is actually not as common back then but now has become ,you know, an event within the past couple of years due to climate change and the way that typhoons and sea level rises and the way that our tides have been changing as an effect of climate change to this one spot that used to be relatively calm and not get as much waves.
I think that it's one of the pieces that I look to when I want to re-spark that light and that when I want to remember and honor, you know, why I continue to do this work and why I continue to capture images about our people because it's such a great example of how interacting with our land and interacting with our water and being one with those things from the time that we are on this earth to the time that we leave this earth and then even as ancestors as we look and be examples to the future generations. You know, it's really important to not only look towards our time on earth as a time of urgency for change but also a time to live and a time to embrace our culture and the innovations of our people and all the joys that come with that as well.
A big aspect of creating this work is navigating the narratives that have been placed upon my people, that have been placed upon, you know, this larger this larger region of the Northern Mariana Islands and, you know, just thinking about the effects of our history on our current day. Talks about climate and talks about the climate crisis are quite difficult in my region because I am on the island of Guåhan which has been separated from the Northern Mariana Islands due to our affiliation with the United States. Guåhan is a territory of the United States whereas the Northern Mariana Islands are a commonwealth and so just within that part of my identity as a person from the Mariana Islands, I constantly struggle with you know the narratives that are being placed around the climate crisis within my work and how I document it and how I choose to bring up these larger themes and these larger messages of trying to preserve our environment using Indigenous and ancestral knowledge and reverting to the qualities and the characteristics of our of our people's teachings.
I have the privilege of having the medium of photography and the great thing about photography is that when you look at an image and it's immediately striking, you have that instant gratification but one thing that I've sort of placed on myself that that is giving me a challenge personally as an artist is to intertwine these complex ideas and thoughts and histories that people should remember in order to grow as a community and in order to endure as a community. The way that translates into my work is placing myself in situations and placing myself in in areas where I can continuously learn and continuously have conversations but also documenting a large scale example of what I'm trying to explain, but then also have these conversations with the people that either take care of that land or are occupiers of that land.
A lot of the work that I do, in environmental portraits, I end up getting a lot of partnerships and collaborations with non profit organizations on the island of Güam, and it has given me an opportunity to speak to farmers and fishermen and people who have chosen a lifestyle dedicated to fighting the climate crisis. I don't think I can make the type of images that I do without having these conversations, without getting permission from these people to use their likeness and to use their, you know, their spirit and the energy that they bring to the image. Despite focusing on all of these complex issues, remembering that the people that are fighting these complex issues are my neighbors, they’re my family members and bringing that into my art as much as possible has been a way to complete that message.
We are raised to be good community members and good, you know, family members within our island. Culturally we have a very specific way that we function as islanders. One of that being this concept well known here as inafa' maolek, which is, to loosely translate it: it's to make good or the concept of reciprocity. And I draw from that wisdom that my ancestors have practiced since pre-contact Marianas to sort of be that guiding practice in the way that I interact with my subjects. Knowing my lineage and going back from not just my mom but to my grandma, to even my great grandma sometimes and having to know where they're from, that's become a part of my practice which I think on a broader level the generational wisdom that I draw from is definitely respect and the idea of love. [MUSIC]
MUSIC & SOUNDS USED:
Theme music : Water Fluid - Music by ItsWatR from Pixabay
Ocean-Sea-Soft-waves: Sound Effect by SoundsForYou from Pixabay
The surf is bad tpdau: Sound Effect from Pixabay
Sea waves: Sound Effect from Pixabay
Lifting guitar: Sound Effect by SamuelFrancisJohnson from Pixabay
