08/26/2026
Today is the day! At noon, we look forward to seeing you on the Trustee Room of the Mark Building at PAM for Kristina Barker’s Lunchtime Photography Talk. As always, we invite you to bring your lunch and your friends, no tickets required. The talk will be in the Trustee Room on the 4th floor of the Mark Building at the Portland Art Museum.
Kristina Barker
how old am i? how old are you?
My mom was diagnosed at 54 years old with early-onset Alzheimer’s. I was only 29. For the past 13 years, I have been photographing this experience in an effort to make sense of this consuming loss. At times, my camera helps me feel more present with what is happening. Other times, it’s a tool for me to disassociate. My camera became an emotional buoy to survive with. The grief I feel is tremendous and often overwhelming.
This collection is not only about losing someone in slow motion, but also what do the feelings of grief look like? How do I honor my memories of her? What does loss look like? I see so much of how we care for my mom as a reflection of her caring for us as babies and small kids. It feels like a circle of patterns and memories. And I see so much of this experience reflected in the natural world. The collection includes images I’ve made of my mom, family snapshots, my journal entries, and photos my mom took with her cellphone.
Guided by her introspective sense of place and belonging, Kristina examines themes around human consciousness reflected in nature. She investigates the idea of where our physical and non-physical worlds intertwine, observing the bewildering experience of existing as a human. Her practice is heavily influenced by grief, memory, and connecting the state of dreaming as a critical part of human life.
