“I wanted to show this mix of beauty, love and fear.”
— Na’ama Lewin
Most every mother can relate to the constant, plaguing worry that Potomac artist Na’ama Lewin expresses in her latest photo exhibit, “A Day at the Pool.” The 18-image exhibition is currently on display at Photoworks, one of the art studios in Glen Echo Park that boasts of a gallery, classes and other programming for local artists.
Lewin said this project is special to her, not only because Photoworks is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, but also because of the subject of the photos is near and dear to her heart – her children. The exhibit opened on Jan. 9 and will showcase through Friday, Feb. 20.
It started when Lewin was sitting poolside, watching her young son and daughter splashing happily in the water. She noted to herself that although she loved watching her children play happily, every time they dipped their heads underwater, she breathed a sigh of relief as soon as their faces broke through the water’s surface.
“I find that I come up with ideas as I go through living life and experiencing different things,” Lewin said. "There are always different things I want to address or talk about. With this, I was just there with my kids and I realized I wanted to capture my concerns and feelings, so I started trying to figure out how to do that. I wanted to show this mix of beauty, love and fear.”
She said the 18 black-and-white, toned images that make up “A Day at the Pool” came from a collection of photos she took with a digital infrared camera between April and August of 2012.
“Each of the images came from a regular day with the kids at the pool even though it doesn’t look like it,” Lewin said.
Gayle Rothschild, director and Curator of Exhibitions at Photoworks, said Lewin was selected out of 12 photographers. She echoed Lewin’s sentiments about her own work, saying that it was a simple image that successfully reflected the fear of a mother.
“Every year, people can submit portfolios,” Rothschild said. “Sometimes, the exhibits feature two artists, but Na’ama’s work was strong enough that we gave her a solo show. The senior photography editor of the Smithsonian magazine, Molly Roberts, was one of the judges and she said what made Na’ma’s work interesting was that it was so poetic. It was a haunting body of work that she shot in infrared film. The hands, feet and skin look very white as opposed to the water that looks very black and scary.”
Lewin, who was born and raised in Maryland, grew up around photography and has always used the arts to express herself. Her mother was a photographer and built a darkroom in her childhood home, and she followed in those footsteps as the photo editor of the Holton-Arms School newspaper in Bethesda.
She studied art and English at Barnard College in New York City before returning to the D.C.-area as a reporter and photographer for the weekly newspaper Washington Jewish Week. A few years later, in the mid-1990s, she returned to New York and played the role of politician’s wife while her husband served in the New York State Assembly. All the while, she earned her MFA in photography and related media from the School of Visual Arts.
She ultimately gravitated toward photography and video work because the images she could produce did a better job showing the dimensions of her thoughts and feelings than writing did.
“Certain feelings and fears I had, I couldn’t verbalize or write in words,” Lewin said. “Photography is more open ended than words sometimes are.”
She explained that most of her work is inspired by defining experiences she has had as a woman, including as a politician’s wife.
“My work ends up being a lot about my own experiences, and about women and the positions they find themselves in,” Lewin said. “It’s about being a wife, daughter and mother.”
She said “A Day at the Pool” exemplifies these themes that often permeate her work.
“There are so many opinions and articles now about what is good parenting and what isn’t,” she said. “There is always that question of how much freedom you should let your kids have. These photos show that there is always this fear when you are a mother.”
Lewin said her children are often the subject of her photographs, and she is constantly playing with different cameras, and tinkering with different lighting and other effects. This is how “A Day at the Pool” came to be.
“I am always experimenting with different cameras,” Lewin said. “I was able to contrast the skin and water, expressing the fear I had when I was with the kids.”
This exhibit is Lewin’s first venture with Photoworks, though she said she hopes to continue her involvement. She has always wanted to get involved with the various programs that Photoworks offers for local artists, and hopes to in the future when she isn’t as consumed with motherhood and her role as instructor at the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington D.C.
She said this project is special to her, and different from many other projects she has had on display.
“This is all still photography, a sequence of images,” Lewin said. “Usually, I work with a lot of media and do a lot of video work. And it’s a project about my kids, which makes it personal.”
Lewin said Rothschild and the rest of the Photoworks staff was great in making “A Day at the Pool” the best exhibit it could possibly be.
Rothschild, she added, was crucial helping select some of the images that are now a part of the exhibit. She is looking forward to future involvement with such a crucial resource to local artists.
“I was very extremely flattered and excited when I was selected,” Lewin said. “When I was showing the work, I didn’t expect it to be a solo exhibit. I was very honored. It’s been a great experience.”
For more information about Photoworks, visit glenechophotoworks.org.
The organization will be having a number of events this year to celebrate its 40th anniversary.