Photographer Tatiana Botton brings her abstract eye to the strange and mutable iceberg at her first solo exhibition ‘Ice’ from February 13 through March at g169 on West Channel Road in Santa Monica Canyon. The opening reception will be on Saturday, February 13 from 5 to 8 p.m. Floating, sailing, twisting and melting in the vast world of Antarctica, icebergs are the fascination for Botton, surprisingly, because she had originally thought that she would prefer the land-based phenomena, such as the penguins, on her trip to Antarctica. During her 14-day excursion aboard the National Geographic Explorer ship in October, Botton and her partner, Lauren McCollum, managed to survive the notoriously choppy, turbulent waters of Drake’s Passage’a two-day endurance test from the tip of Argentina to the Antarctic peninsula. ’It was 48 hours of straight crossing’or for some, two days of lying in bed,’ Botton says. The benefit, though, was that the passengers were well informed by the time they emerged from the trial. The Explorer is equipped with a team of scientists, who offer videos and presentations on the strange, empty continent. Although Botton was able to get close to the many varieties of penguin (minus the majestic emperors), she was transfixed by the icebergs. ’I think the best pictures I took were of the tabular icebergs,’ she says. These particular icebergs have a flat, table-like top and steep sides. She credits a middle-of-the night view from the deck for her splendid shots. ‘The captain had promised the passengers that if the light was good at 3:30 a.m.’by the time we had cleared Drake’s Passage’he would wake us up via intercom. At 3:30, I woke spontaneously, put on all my gear and went out in the 10-below night air. There was a white cloud cover, no sunlight (at this time of year, spring in South America is daylight most of the time). The flat light made it easier to photograph the icebergs.’ Botton remained on deck shooting the gigantic shapes until about 8 in the morning, at which time a few more brave souls joined her. Botton, 38, specializes in advertising and editorial portraits but fits her Antarctic expedition into the category of personal work. ‘Right now it’s all about panoramic landscapes,’ she says. Future projects may include a trip to Hawaii to study and photograph the lava flows, and perhaps a study of the desert. Botton, whose father is French, grew up in Cannes and Barcelona, where she studied American literature and filmmaking. She moved to Los Angeles in 1994 to study journalism at UCLA, and has remained ever since. She and Lauren and their cat make their home in Santa Monica. ’While writing for publications in the U.S. and Spain, I discovered photography,’ she says. ‘Making people look beautiful was initially easy for me and drew me in, but capturing the ‘essence,’ as one art director said to me, was the real challenge. I found that I had to approach each subject intuitively.’ Botton was attracted to icebergs for their abstract shapes, and was further intrigued by the names of their locations that speak to the fabled lore and silent starkness of the continent. Names like Deception Island and Paradise Bay encourage the visitor to create their own narrative, she says. Botton’s association with Frank Langen’s g169 came about through Langen’s girlfriend Diana Brown, a good friend. His gallery in Santa Monica offered an agreeable fit with her interest in marrying art with philanthropy. Twenty percent of the proceeds of this exhibition will be given to Heal The Bay, whose mission is to protect and preserve the health of Santa Monica Bay. She and Lauren have just closed on a commercial building in Santa Monica’an old printing press at Tenth and Broadway’that they intend to open as an art studio/gallery. ‘I would like to combine art with charity, particularly with local organizations,’ Botton says. ‘We’ve already talked with L.A.’s Best, an after-school education and enrichment program for elementary school kids.’ Botton will be on hand at Saturday’s reception to talk further about her Antarctica adventure. ‘It’s an amazing location; from one season to the next, it will always be different. No matter how many photographers come, they will never be able to find the same picture again.’
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