VIRTUAL EXHIBITION

AMIE POTSIC

SEEKER: An Extraordinary Photographic Odyssey in the Holy Lands

This virtual exhibition is a companion to Amie Potsic’s Seeker exhibition and book release on view at The SPACE Art Gallery in Philadelphia from January 27 - March 31, 2024.

Seeker is a solo exhibition highlighting the contemporary artist's photography created while backpacking alone for one year in India and Israel at the age of 23. Defying the stereotype of the heroic male photographer, Potsic traversed the Negev Desert and scaled the Himalayas with her Hasselblad camera and 100+ rolls of film. Through a female gaze, she documented visual splendor, human dignity, and the role of individuals in their communities. Her lens revealed a multifaceted experience of the depth of ritual and resilience of tradition in the eastern and western Holy Lands. Seen through today's optics, Potsic's imagery provides a window to a time when Israel was in the midst of the Peace Process and India had yet to see a technology boom. Her photographs reveal a time when both countries were full of hope despite contradiction. This exhibition presents the artist's original photographs as well as mixed media works and a monograph created through decades of reflection upon the medium of photography, religious patriarchy, and female empowerment.

Amie Potsic, *Amie Potsic: Seeker,* Installation View, The SPACE Art Gallery, Philadelphia, 2024, © Amie Potsic 2024

A featured exhibition of ReFOCUS: Philadelphia Focuses on Women in the Visual Arts

For more information: (re)FOCUS 2024

“Finding myself alone in India with just a backpack, my Hasselblad camera, and 100+ rolls of film, I was terrified yet certain. This was no accident. Despite my well-intended plans, the universe had something bigger and better in mind.”

— Amie Potsic

Amie Potsic is photographer and installation artist whose work addresses cultural, personal, and natural phenomena and has inspired her solo photographic journeys across the globe. Potsic has exhibited her work internationally at the Art Park in Rhodes, Greece; Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá, Colombia; Medfoundart di Cagliari, Italy; the Royal College of London; the Museum of New Art in Detroit; The Woodmere Art Museum, The National Constitution Center Museum, The Painted Bride, and James Oliver Gallery in Philadelphia; The Delaware Contemporary in Wilmington, DE; Mission 17 in San Francisco; and 626 Gallery in Los Angeles. She won Best in Show for her work in Experimental Photography Today at The Delaware Contemporary in 2015 and was featured in Keystone 1, the inaugural Pennsylvania Photography Biennial, at Silver Eye Center for Photography in Pittsburgh the same year. Potsic received her MFA in Photography from the San Francisco Art Institute and BA’s in Photojournalism and English Literature from Indiana University, graduating with Distinguished Honors and a member of Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. She has held faculty appointments at the University of California at Berkeley, Ohlone College, and the San Francisco Art Institute and published her work in The San Francisco Chronicle and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Potsic has been a guest lecturer at The International Center of Photography and is the Host of Art Watch Radio and Podcast on WCHE 1520 & 95.3 in Greater Philadelphia.

Go behind the scenes with Amie Potsic on the creation of her book and exhibition "Seeker: An Extraordinary Photographic Odyssey in the Holy Lands" presented at The Space Art Gallery in Philadelphia as part of the ReFocus 2024 Festival of Women's Art. Video by Jordan Romney.

Amie Potsic, *Elephant (Pondicherry, India),* Chromogenic Print, 19 x 19 inches, 1996 © Amie Potsic, 2024

FOREWORD ESSAY

Written by Stephen Perloff, Founder and Editor of The Photo Review.

“Potsic’s photographs lead us to confront the many issues these countries faced, to imagine the possibilities that lay before them, to celebrate where progress has been made, and to rue the myriad problems they both still confront. For a young photographer, that is an outcome I doubt she would have considered possible when she took her first step alone into a year-long remarkable journey.” -Stephen Perloff

Click here to read the full essay.

Amie Potsic, *Sukkah at the Kotel (Jerusalem, Israel),* Chromogenic Print, 19 x 19 inches, 1996 © Amie Potsic, 2024

PREFACE ESSAY

Written by Amie Potsic

“My camera became my purpose, my baby, and my companion. She was my license to try anything and gained me access to friendship, adventure, and inner sanctums.” - Amie Potsic

Click here to read the full essay.

Artist Statement

Rich in ancient tradition and barreling into modernity, India and Israel are nations of amazing resilience and spiritual depth. Both countries recently celebrated 75 years of independence following years of British colonial rule and created new realities amidst ancient cultures. India being the eastern Holy Land where Hinduism and Buddhism began and Israel being the western Holy land where Judaism, Christianity, and Islam originated, these nations are both modern political entities and the birthplaces of the world’s major religions.

I spent one uninterrupted year on a solo photographic odyssey in India and Israel in 1995 at the age of 23 with just a backpack, my Hasselblad camera, and 100+ rolls of film. Throughout my journey, I was fascinated by the influence of religion on the day-to-day life of every individual. Religion often affected every aspect of a person’s life from what to eat, whom to marry, what to wear, to how to worship. Both countries have numerous religions existing side-by-side, in conflict and in harmony. Additionally, their religious traditions are administered by patriarchal systems, creating challenges for women and girls seeking equal rights and safety. Religion and ritual were everywhere in vivid, visual splendor – on every street corner, train station, temple, and home – and I was enthralled.

In the mid-1990’s, Israel was in the midst of the Peace Process after the signing of the Oslo Accords and a tenuous peace seemed just around the corner. The same year, India had yet to experience its technology boom and Bollywood had not made it to the world stage. So much has changed since then. Even so, in the face of rapidly changing societies and the struggles of modernity, India and Israel remain ancestral homes to their indigenous peoples, sacred texts, historical sites, and religious ritual. My photographs from that time are a testament to those moments in history as well as my experience of inspiration and awe for these countries of difficulty and wonder.

Amie Potsic, *Sadhu (Varanasi/Benares, India)*, Chromogenic Print, 19 x 19 inches, 1996 © Amie Potsic, 2024

Amie Potsic, *Temple Light (Jaisalmer, India)*, Chromogenic Print, 19 x 19 inches, 1996 © Amie Potsic, 2024

Amie Potsic, *Mother and Son (Jaisalmer, India),* Chromogenic Print, 19 x 19 inches, 1996 © Amie Potsic, 2024

Amie Potsic, *Galaxy Mirror (Tirumala Tirupati, India),* Chromogenic Print, 19 x 19 inches, 1996 © Amie Potsic, 2024

Amie Potsic, *Festival Eyes (Calcutta, India),* Chromogenic Print, 19 x 19 inches, 1996 © Amie Potsic, 2024

Amie Potsic, *Young Monk (Bodh Gaya, India)*, Chromogenic Print, 19 x 19 inches, 1996 © Amie Potsic, 2024

Amie Potsic, *Nagar Sadhu (Varanasi/Benares, India),* Chromogenic Print, 19 x 19 inches, 1996 © Amie Potsic, 2024

Amie Potsic, *Pilgrims (Tirumala Tirupati, Tirumala, India),* Chromogenic Print, 19 x 19 inches, 1996 © Amie Potsic, 2024

Amie Potsic, *Sunrise on the Ghats (Varanasi/Benares, India),* Chromogenic Print, 19 x 19 inches, 1996 © Amie Potsic, 2024

Amie Potsic, *Puja (Varanasi/Benares, India),* Chromogenic Print, 19 x 19 inches, 1996 © Amie Potsic, 2024

*Seeker: An Extraordinary Photographic Odyssey in the Holy Lands* by Amie Potsic, Cover spread, © Amie Potsic, 2024

Amie Potsic, *Minyan (Jerusalem, Israel)*, Chromogenic Print, 19 x 19 inches, 1996 © Amie Potsic, 2024

Amie Potsic, *Struggle (Jerusalem, Israel),* Chromogenic Print, 19 x 19 inches, 1996 © Amie Potsic, 2024

Amie Potsic, *Dome of the Rock (Jerusalem, Israel)*, Chromogenic Print, 19 x 19 inches, 1996 © Amie Potsic, 2024

Amie Potsic, *Jerusalem and the Dome of the Rock from the Mount of Olives (Jerusalem, Israel),* Chromogenic Print, 19 x 19 inches, 1996 © Amie Potsic, 2024

Amie Potsic, *Nun on the Mount of Olives (Jerusalem, Israel),* Chromogenic Print, 19 x 19 inches, 1996 © Amie Potsic, 2024

Amie Potsic, *Boys on Fishing Boat (Akko, Israel)*, Chromogenic Print, 19 x 19 inches, 1996 © Amie Potsic, 2024

Amie Potsic, *Lining Bait (Akko, Israel)*, Chromogenic Print, 19 x 19 inches, 1996 © Amie Potsic, 2024

Amie Potsic, *Sunset (Tzfat, Israel),* Chromogenic Print, 19 x 19 inches, 1996 © Amie Potsic, 2024

Amie Potsic, *Sukkot Celebration (Tzfat, Israel),* Chromogenic Print, 19 x 19 inches, 1996 © Amie Potsic, 2024

Amie Potsic, *Makhtesh Ramon Crater, The Negev Desert (Mitzpe Ramon, Israel),* Chromogenic Print, 19 x 19 inches, 1996 © Amie Potsic, 2024

Amie Potsic, *On Top of the World*, 2024, 24” x 24” x 1.5”, Mixed Media on Panel with 18K Gold Leaf, © Amie Potsic 2024

Amie Potsic, *On Top of the World (DETAIL)*, 2024, 24” x 24” x 1.5”, Mixed Media on Panel with 18K Gold Leaf, © Amie Potsic 2024

Amie Potsic, *Devotion,* 24” x 24” x 1.5”, 2024, Mixed Media on Panel with 18K Gold Leaf, © Amie Potsic 2024

Amie Potsic, *Devotion (DETAIL),* 24” x 24” x 1.5”, 2024, Mixed Media on Panel with 18K Gold Leaf, © Amie Potsic 2024

Amie Potsic, *Yoga Sadhu*, 12” x 12” x 1.5”, 2024, Mixed Media on Panel with 18K Gold Leaf, © Amie Potsic 2024

Amie Potsic, *Yoga Sadhu (DETAIL)*, 12” x 12” x 1.5”, 2024, Mixed Media on Panel with 18K Gold Leaf, © Amie Potsic 2024

Amie Potsic, *Hope on the Horizon*, 2024, 12” x 12” x 1.5”, Mixed Media on Panel with 18K Gold Leaf, © Amie Potsic 2024

Amie Potsic, *Looking to the Future*, 2024, 15” x 15” x 1”, Mixed Media on Panel with 18K Gold Leaf, © Amie Potsic 2024

PRESS

Amie Potsic is interviewed about her new monograph and solo exhibition: Seeker: An Extraordinary Photographic Odyssey in the Holy Lands. The artist discusses her original photographs as well as mixed media works, memoir, and a monograph created through decades of reflection upon female empowerment, gender politics, and religious patriarchy.

Amie Potsic, *Fire (Calcutta, India),* Chromogenic Print, 19 x 19 inches, 1996 © Amie Potsic, 2024

Click here to view Amie Potsic's Online Store at The space art gallery

To learn more about Amie Potsic’s work, visit her Showroom and follow her on Instagram @amiepotsic.

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VIRTUAL EXHIBITION﻿