Beyond Whiteness
November 1 – January 31, 2020
Opening Reception November 1 from 5 – 7pm

When I moved from Germany to northern Minnesota about ten years ago, I knew that the winters would be long and very cold. Well, they are. I now know what cabin fever is. But I also found beauty and mystery in the northern winter. The world around me puts on a monochrome blanket, forests become transparent and graphical. Sparse colors seem even more vibrant, a snow-laden sky can appear darker than the snow-covered ground, snowdrifts reshape the landscape, and noises are muted. I walked through several blizzards with my camera, even if that is a challenge. I love being out on a frozen lake in thick snowfall, when everything dissolves into the stillness of a whiteout. All senses sharpen.

Growing up in Germany, Monika Lawrence began her career as a foreign language teacher, later shifting to social work. She started studying photography in the mid-nineties at the Photography School Am Schiffbauerdamm and the School of Photography and Design Ostkreuz, both in Berlin. In 2007 she moved to Bemidji, MN, where she lives with her husband Mark. Monika teaches photography and photojournalism at Bemidji State University and works as a freelance photojournalist for Minnesota Public Radio. As well as emphasizing portrait and artistic performance photography, her special focus is on people in their environment as well as people’s impact on the natural environment.