Kyra Lieberman – In Motion Staff
Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and raised in Los Angeles, Calif., Colin Finlay is an artist, activist and creator.
He debuted his new documentary film, “Hearts Road,” at the Southeast Museum of Photography on Jan. 30 for a record-breaking turnout of students, faculty and community members. The film explores Finlay’s work over the past 30 years and millions of miles traveled. He composed all of the music in the film and chose some of his most impactful captures from over the years to create powerful images about the interconnectedness of the natural and human worlds. Having traveled to more than 90 countries and witnessed regime changes, wars, natural disasters, joys and horrors, Finlay has a rare perspective on life.
But the path was not always clear for him.
“I had a difficult time. I struggled my first 18, 19 years of school,” says Finlay. “It was a really difficult thing for me to overcome. I took my own initiative and moved back home after I flunked out my freshman year in college and had my job and paid for my own classes and books and I was going to take the classes I wanted to take.”
He enrolled in every class that interested him, from astronomy to modern art to music theory at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and went from a 1.66 to a 4.0 GPA.
“I was already ready to go, I already had my sights set on whatever else the world was going to bring, what I was going to try and create in the world and UCSB was the conduit for that.” He adds, “I never took a photography class. I’ve never taken a workshop, I’ve never had my portfolio reviewed, I’ve never worked for anyone as an intern.”
His first job was a cover story for Scholastic Magazine about the conflict in Northern Ireland at the time. He wrote and photographed the story, an asset he had developed out of passion. Then it was a story in Cuba, then Kenya, then the 10-year anniversary of Chernobyl in 1996.
“I was interviewing and photographing children so that kids here could understand what their lives were like.”
His first book, “The Unheard Voice, Portraits of Childhood,” is a collection of photographs of children living in conditions of war, famine, genocide and conflict.
“I’m not going to sit there and read about Apartheid in South Africa, I’m going to be there at the press conferences, I’m going to be there with de Klerk and Mandela, I’m going to experience this with my own eyes and not just what someone is telling me. There were a lot of times I saw history unfolding before my eyes in these countries and in these transcendent moments, like Mandela ascending to presidency and coups in countries and earthquakes and genocide in Darfur and Rwanda and wars in the Middle East.”
He tries to “cross the line” whenever possible, to view a conflict the way people on all sides of the situation do to get the full picture.
“You have to go in there without an opinion one way or the other. I let the story tell me where it’s going to go and what it is. I’m here to record that and reflect it in images with pure honesty. That is the value,” he says. “It’s been a long road. A long 30 years. A lot of incredible stories. It feels like I’ve lived 10 lifetimes in one.”
His focus has shifted in recent years to a new subject: climate change and climate justice.
“It was very easy to tell that the world was shifting, being in Antarctica with the scientists, seeing the polar bears and understanding what’s going on there in the Arctic Circle, understanding the plight of the polar bears,” he says. “Projects like that were getting under my skin 15 years ago. And it became the main focus of my work.”
“Hearts Road” focuses on the impacts of climate change and the devastation it has already brought. Human interference in the natural world has impacts on us, from ice sheets melting and the ocean rising to droughts in southern Africa to earthquakes.
“Luckily I was able to have the fortitude and support of people that have allowed me to have the life of a pirate. Going on these vessels from place to place in 90-odd countries and all the millions of miles I’ve flown and I’ve by-and-large chosen to go on these trips. I take assignments that fit into what I want to do and the journey that I want to take and be responsible for.
“The same thing with Hearts Road and the documentary. I’m not going to sit there and tell you what you think about the documentary. I’m not going to have a curator telling you what to think or a scientist telling you statistic after statistic after statistic. I’m going to let you have your journey. My photographs and my music are the guide. Where you take it, that’s the beauty. Where you take it in your mind and I’m not going to tell you what that is. Because I trust you to have your own unique experience. Then it’s you and it’s not about me, which is why my name is not at the beginning of the film, it’s not until the end.”
He is also keenly aware of the changes and blows to the photography industry since the advent of the internet and social media. Multimedia is the way of the future and artists must constantly stay a step ahead of Instagram and the tools that are now in every person’s hands.
“Everything changes. Photographers have had a tough time of it and a lot of photographers have lost their way, to say the least,” he says. “There’s a new horizon out there and we’re right in the middle of it. And the work that I do is my response to that new horizon. It is what it is. I don’t have to be hopeful. I’m happy to be where I’m at with the photographs, with the music, with the art, with the writing, with the books, doing what I’m trying to communicate and share.”
What’s next for Colin Finlay? He is working on a quartet of books, the first two of which are available now, that include chapters on various countries he has visited. Each chapter focuses on a different country and has two recipes, three photos and a playlist of songs from that country, from Rwanda to the Bahamas to Iceland. His goal, like with the film, is not to tell people how to feel, but to let them experience the culture of various countries through some of the best media: food, music and real stories.
He notes that there is an almost constant among recipes.
“Onions, garlic and some kind of oil! The world over, for the most part, this is how they start seasoning their food.”
Through his many mediums, Finlay focuses on what brings the planet together, not what is tearing it apart. By showing some of the greatest tragedies, from war-torn nations to the aftermath of oil spills, he hopes to inspire change in policy and mindset, with his photos providing a little help.
“We’re all on our way to being better people and hopefully turning this world around.”
You can visit colinfinlay.com to learn more and explore Finlay’s work.