Welcome to no. 44 in our series Poignant Pics where our editor, Diana Nicholette Jeon, writes about Ivan Wentland’s image, “Palm Light”

Family Pictures

For the past 13 years, there has been a local call for entries of photography made by Hawaii residents. Specifically, it seeks to showcase the best contemporary work being done here, rather than the travel and tourism imagery more commonly associated with a tropical island. Sponsored by Pacific New Media, it generally has a curator or photographer well-regarded nationally as the juror. This year, it was Catherine Whitney, who is the Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Honolulu Museum of Art. As of last year, the exhibition includes a category for series work in addition to their traditional single image survey. That is where I found this work by Oahu photographer Ivan Wentland.

I'm more surprised than probably, well, anyone that I selected this image, Palm Light, to write about. I'm not the greatest fan of portfolios of pictures of children. Frequently, I find them overly dependent on the viewer's sentimentality and our love for children and their innocence and inquisitiveness. Still, I do highly regard some photographers who do this work. Aside from Sally Mann's iconic work, Nikki Boon, Elinor Carucci, Jennifer Georgesque, Alain Laboile, and Deb Swedhelm have produced series I greatly admire. That's because they create something beyond sentimental images of children doing what children will do.  

When I asked about this work, Ivan said, "Fighting for life strips away many things that are not essential, paring it back to the important, the pure and, sometimes, the simple. I'm celebrating the life and growth of my children as my wife battles her cancer. Looking for love and life to prevail." Last week I wrote about Lea Murphy, who uses her photography to delve into her unfathomable familial losses to suicide. I had initially planned to show this work before Lea's. But because Wentland uses his family photography as his wife battles cancer, I wanted to close on a note of hope.  

What attracted me to Wentland's portfolio and this specific image is simple: speaking as a Hawai'i resident, this image sings Hawai'i. The palm leaf and the unique quality of the light imbue the image with a sense of place, this place. His son resembles how my son looked when he was young, and like so many other children here in the islands who are hapa, or mixed race. If you know this place well, you immediately recognize this as a picture of every keikikane (boy) as well as of our Hawaiian islands. In effect, it's an environmental portrait sans environment. 

Wentland told me that he often feels helpless as his wife battles cancer, so he uses his photography to show her the beauty they created via their children. He celebrates their life and youth because "regardless of what happens, life will go on, and I choose to focus on that." It's challenging to find the positives when life confronts us with lemons. I commend Ivan for using photography to help bring joy and normalcy to their family life and show a distinct sense of place while doing so.

Artist Bio

Ivan Wentland began photographing for his high school yearbook and hasn’t put down his camera since. He was awarded a BA in Photography from Andrews University in 1994. Wentland previously worked in a commercial photography studio in Michigan and taught photo at the high school level as well. Wentland is enamored with the natural textures, light, and colors of the Hawaiian Islands which he uses as a palette for his environmental portraiture of family. He has shown his photography in a solo exhibition at Fishcake HI on Oahu, as well as numerous group exhibitions. He lives in Honolulu, HI with his wife and two sons.

More of his work can be seen here. The specific portfolio as well as the exhibition referenced above can be seen here.

Author Bio

Diana Nicholette Jeon is an award-winning artist based in Honolulu, HI, who works primarily with lens-based media. Her work has been seen both internationally and nationally in solo and group exhibitions. Jeon holds an MFA from UMBC.