For more than four decades, Light Work has offered yearly $3,000 grants to central New York artists. The grant — which has since been awarded to more than 100 artists — was established to help local artists create new work, as well as further their existing projects. This year, three photographers have been honored: Nydia Blas, Michelle Gabel and Jerry Lim. Their diverse bodies of work will be displayed in the Light Work Hallway Gallery from Nov. 1 to Dec. 13.

NYDIA BLAS

When Nydia Blas went back to school for her college degree, she thought it “super irresponsible” to study photography. A young, working mother raising two children, she thought she should pursue something more practical — something that could sustain her family, she said. But on a trip to Guatemala, the proclaimed irresponsibility of photography was quickly outweighed by Blas’ passion for it.

“When I was there I couldn’t stop taking photos,” Blas said. “After that I was like ‘Oh, I have to study photography again.’”

Today, Blas’ work revolves around themes of race, gender and sexuality. When she was an undergraduate at Ithaca College, one of her childhood friends was shot and killed by police. This experience inspired her to use photography as a tool to illustrate the issues that matter to her, she said.

“It really shook me up, and it really made me want to make connections between the actual things that I experienced in the world,” said Blas.

Like Gabel, Blas said her most intimate portraits rely on creating an off-camera relationship with her subjects. For her series, “The Girls Who Spun Gold,” Blas photographed a group of young women she had grown close with through the Southside Community Center, a historically black community center in Ithaca. Blas has served as executive director of the Southside Center since January. For some images in the series, Blas turned the camera on herself.

With the funds from the grant, Blas hopes to expand upon “The Girls Who Spun Gold.” Blas said she plans to make a short video of the girls she works with at the Southside Center. She has also envisioned a printed book of the series.

“The exciting thing about photography is that there’s literally no wrong answer,” said Blas. “You are bringing yourself to the work, and what you see in the work is just dependent upon your experiences in life. That’s beneficial to you no matter who you are.”

MICHELLE GABEL

Michelle Gabel, a freelancer based out of Fayetteville, finds her inspiration in other people. Her work creates raw and vivid pictures of the worlds of others — a woman going through cancer treatment, a child violin prodigy and an elderly man grieving the loss of his wife, among others.

“I find people just fascinating,” Gabel said. “I feel very honored for however the stars aligned, they allow me into their lives.”

Since 2014, much of Gabel’s most intimate work has focused on one subject in particular: Michelle Fox of Camillus. In 2014, Fox suffered an accidental shotgun blast to the face, leaving her blind and the upper half of her face collapsed. She now wears a facial prosthesis, a wax mask handmade to recreate her eyes, nose and upper lip.

Gabel originally began working with Fox while she was a photojournalist at the Syracuse Post-Standard, on assignment. Since then, the two Michelle’s lives have remained intertwined — Gabel asked Fox to be the subject of her master’s thesis at Syracuse University. Fox agreed, and now Gabel said she considers Fox to be a close friend. Gabel hopes receiving the Light Work grant will allow her to continue to share Fox’s story with the world.

“Michelle really wants to share her story,” said Gabel. “I plan to be in Michelle’s life for as long as her and her family want me to be in their lives, and the grant helps me continue this project and collaboration.”

JERRY LIM

For Jerry Lim, photography isn’t so much a single passion as it is part of an arsenal of artistic pursuits. Lim began as a painter and earned his degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art in sculpture. He said he only began to pursue photography seriously a few years ago, after reading “The Americans,” a book by photographer Robert Frank.

Lim’s inspirations are as diverse as his use of mediums. He said he’s been inspired by musical compositions, photography, sculpture and painting alike.

“I appreciate anything where someone has committed their life to it,” he said.

For his most recent work, Lim went to the Japanese town of Imbe to create a series surrounding Bizen, an special form of pottery that has been produced in the town for more than 1,000 years. In his application statement for the grant, Lim said the series “looks at this ancient way of life and how it exists in a present filled with uncertainties.”

As an artist, Lim frequently combines the different mediums he has worked with. Lim is also a guitarist and has released multiple albums online — one of his photo series is paired with a soundtrack of acoustic steel string guitar. Another series is presented with poetry.

“I’m trying to be less of a purist in a way and let things happen and see if it works,” Lim said with a laugh. “Why keep it all separated in a way, when so much of it overlaps all the time for me?”

Published on November 1, 2018 at 12:09 am