Artwork courtesy of the artists. Installation Photos by Pedro Wazzan.

Nicole Combeau employs deliberate techniques such as the manipulation of light and double exposures to weave layered and collaborative narratives into her work and ground herself in relationship to her surroundings. These processes, often unpredictable, merge body and landscape seamlessly–where the border of the body and the land it occupies become one plane–mirroring the notion that we both come from and become the places we move through. Often taking the form of portraits and self portraits, Combeau builds her photographic narratives in collaboration with both her subjects and the medium of photography itself. 

Sue Montoya documents the landscapes she moves through, layering memories and sentiments and pairing each with a song, which becomes an ongoing love letter to places left behind, people lost, and lived experiences. This series, Letras Viajeras (Traveling Letters) culminates in an ongoing heartfelt love letter to all the places she once knew. Multidimensional in its format, this photographic essay is activated by the viewer, visitors are invited to scan a QR code to listen to the playlist or take a postcard to mail, creating an interactive and engaging experience.

Both artists, first-generation Americans, navigate their sense of place in the world with their cameras collecting and transforming moments, feelings, people and places into tangible sentiments and archives. The images become entry points that question  relationships and histories. 

This exhibition was part of the 2024 WOPHA Congress programming.

About Women Photographers International Archive (WOPHA)

Women Photographers International Archive (WOPHA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded to research, promote, support, and educate on the contributions of women and non-binary photographers to modern and contemporary art in order to rewrite the artistic canon and provoke social change. WOPHA fosters a more diverse and equitable world by providing a permanent archive for future generations that preserves, documents, and promotes women photographers’ work while being a driving force for innovative thinking and discussion about the role of women in photographic arts.

Artwork credits

Top Right: Sue Montoya, XXXVIII “Y para saber si me corresponde” La Jardinera de Violeta Parra, 2022.

Sue Montoya, IV “era una hoja en blanco”Hoja En Blanco de Monchy & Alexandra · Wilfran Castillo, 2022.

Bottom Left: Nicole Combeau, Untitled (I sat for two hours watching you fly, both uncomfortably and in awe), 2023.

Nicole Combeau, Untitled (thank you for letting me see myself in you), 2023.