Acclaimed humanitarian photographer Lisa Kristine
specializes in images of remote indigenous peoples. Best known for her
evocative and saturated use of color, her fine art prints are among the most
sought after and collected in the world. Lisa has documented in over 80
countries on six continents, using a 19th century 4×5” field view camera
for the majority of her work.
Lisa Kristine was born in San Francisco, California, on
September 2, 1965. She developed an early interest in anthropology and
photography. Lisa was mentored in her youth in Silver Gelatin and Cibachrome
printing. Following graduation from the Fashion Institute of Design and
Merchandising in San Francisco, Lisa photographed for nearly five years in
Europe and Asia.
Lisa has collaborated with international humanitarian
organizations. When the State of the World Forum convened in San Francisco in
1999 and in New York in 2000, Lisa was asked to present her work to help
inspire discussions on human rights, social change, and global security. Her work
was auctioned by Christie’s New York to benefit the United Nations with Kofi
Annan. She was also honored to be the sole exhibitor at the 2009 Vancouver
Peace Summit with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Reverend Tutu and award winning
Nobel Laureates.
In 2010 Lisa collaborated with Free the Slaves documenting
modern day slavery. She traveled into the heart of broiling brick kilns, down
rickety mine shafts, and into hidden lairs of sex slavery. She bore witness to
the most horrible abuses imaginable and the astonishing glimpses of the
indomitable human spirit. A groundbreaking photographic book entitled
Slavery in which Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote the foreword was released in the
fall of 2010. The sales of the book will help to end slavery.
John C. Sweeney, Director of the United Nations, says of her
work, “Lisa Kristine’s sensitive and beautiful portrayal of isolated and
distant peoples helps us to better appreciate the diversity of the world. She
captures the sheer beauty of the differences in people and places and allows us
to comprehend the shared nature of the human condition: its hope, its joy and
its complexity.”
Her work is made distinctive by her passion and intuition
and her intense interest in the humanity of her subjects. “I want a person to
feel at ease with me, so that they remain who they are and are unchanged by a
new, foreign element such as a stranger (myself) or a camera. In order for me
to photograph a person in this unaffected environment of ‘self,’ there must be
a firm trust between us. Without this, one might still create a beautiful
image, but not a stirring one. I’m drawn to people who have been living closer
to the earth, and who have very old traditions. People who have not, in any
way, been altered by modernity.”
“The saturation of color opens our eyes to those who are
living in ways very different from our own,” says Paul Oppenheimer, a highly
regarded philosopher and teacher. “Lisa invites each of us as humans to look
into the eyes of those whom we cannot understand—in a setting that does not
diminish our differences. In those differences we find the roots of our unity.”
The images, both inspiring and evocative, draw a connection
between the viewer and the subject. Lisa Kristine’s art is her personal
statement about the connection of humanity, and about the diversity, beauty,
and hardship of our world.
Published in 2003, Lisa’s limited edition hardcover monograph A Human Thread of 120 photographs sold out within a year. The accompanying short documentary film, A Human Thread, explores the process behind the photographs and includes interviews with Kristine as well as footage of her on location.
Published in 2003, Lisa’s limited edition hardcover monograph A Human Thread of 120 photographs sold out within a year. The accompanying short documentary film, A Human Thread, explores the process behind the photographs and includes interviews with Kristine as well as footage of her on location.
Following on the success of her first book, Kristine
published This Moment in 2007. This Moment won the bronze metal for the Independent
Publisher Book Awards The book consists of 62 full color plates showcasing her
use of the large-format 4″x5″ field view camera. A second documentary film, Through the Lens, was
produced in association with the book. The film illuminates her photographic
and artistic process in using a 4″x5″ large-format view camera.
Lisa Kristine resides in Northern California with her
family.
All images © Lisa Kristine
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