Recollections are subjects of photographer's Dallas Show

North Lake College student Cristina Nava is currently exhibiting her photography in her first solo exhibition, “Mending Life,” at the Bath House Cultural Center in Dallas.

Fifteen black and white silver prints, each representing a surrealistic approach, are on display.

Nava has learned all her skills by taking numerous courses at NLC, and has collaborated on the magazines CC Writer and Duck Soup. She is also the winner of the 2003 Dallas County Community College League for Innovation competition.

On the eve of her exhibition, Nava sat down with the News-Register’s contributor Maria Lara and talked about her show.

Lara: Why “Mending Life”?
Nava: I chose the title because the stuff I used was picked up from the streets. It is stuff that was once useful for somebody but they are abandoned. I feel that when I recover them I can fix the life because I turn them useful again.
Lara: Where does this idea come from?
Nava: I was inspired by Olivia Parker’s book, Weighing the Planet, that my mentor Barry Snidow showed to me.
Lara: How do you define this exhibition, and what does it mean for you?
Nava: Like a friend told me, there is a history in every single photograph. A lot of times they reflect part of my personal experience or something that has been told to me, or even something that I have seen in the streets.
For example, in “Santuary,” I was inspired by a scuba diving experience. My parents used to scuba dive in a artificial lake that once was a town. A church on the bottom of the lake forms an air bubble on its cupola (ceiling) where people can breath. I placed the snails representing things that remain, and the fish represent the water.
Lara: What is the most important thing in the creative process?
Nava: The recollection. I recollect and an idea pops out later, like “Fortune Teller.” I started doing something with the little papers from the fortune cookies, like the ones the little birds pick in Mexico to tell you your luck. I never have a preconceived idea.
Lara: What do you expect from the exhibition?
Nava: I hope people like it. I do it because I like it but that is not enough. If people like my work, that encourages me to do more, because otherwise I would do something else.
Lara: Are you going to keep doing this kind of work?
Nava: I really love this, but I want to do something different, too, like portraits and architecture.
Lara: Are you working on another project?
Nava: Yes, a calendar to help an orphanage, but my dream is to publish a book.
Lara: Anything else?
Nava: Yes, I want to thank North Lake College that helped form me as a photographer, and my teachers, Barry Snidow, Chuck Bryant, and James Newberry.

Nava’s exhibit runs through April 16 at the cultural center. For directions and times, call 214-670-8749.