Critical Distance

Experts say it takes twenty years to lend honest reflection on major life and global events; taking critical distance to look back at what holds new relevance now. Over the past few years, the effects of multiple pandemics have become glaring. Inequities have been overlooked, consciously and out of convenience, but over time they become unavoidable. These events are not contained within national borders and the current pandemic is a reminder that health is interconnected. The political consequences of the past 20 years echoes across the globe and we recognize the need to evaluate the insights of photographers outside of the US and Western Europe. Photographers make visual records of these circumstances. The significance of these images may not be fully recognized until a critical distance has passed. This exhibition facilitates an opportunity for critical distance, from then and now during the 2022 FotoFocus Biennial: World Record.

Critical Distance is a juried exhibition soliciting work from members of the Society for Photographic Education (SPE), a member-based nonprofit that is the leading forum for fostering understanding of photography in all its forms and related media. SPE engages its worldwide membership and affiliated communities through a range of supportive platforms including conferences, events, and publications.

The call was open to all levels of light-based creatives to submit work made anytime from this year to up to twenty years ago.

Curators: Jordanne Renner and Michael Borowski