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Mika Goodfriend, Roulotte, inkjet print, 61 x 76 cm

About

Snowbirds is a social documentary study of Breezy Hill RV trailer park, a tightly knit community of French Québécois retirees living in the heart of Pompano Beach, Florida. Florida is home to the largest concentration of Québécois outside of Québec. 98% of the residents of Breezy Hill come from Québec, importing their unique identity and culture each winter. Though Goodfriend was born in Québec, he has have never felt part of its identity. Through his practice he endeavors to explore what being Québécois means to him by photographing those who he feels are woven into its cultural fabric.

He approached the series from the point of view of a visual anthropologist, studying an ‘endangered species’, from a cultural and socioeconomic era and tradition that has long since passed. The residents are the last of their kind to migrate ‘en masse’ to Florida during the winter months, living out their version of the ‘American Dream’ within the white picket fences of Breezy Hill. The series is a memorialization of a distinct chapter of Québec history, aiming to foster an insight into a culture that remains uniquely foreign to him.

Goodfriend was the National winner of the BMO 1^st, student art competition, 2012.

Mika Goodfriend

I was born and raised in Montréal, however, I have never felt Québécois. Yet, I also have never identified with the Jewish culture in which I was raised. Growing up, I felt my family classified our Jewish lifestyle in opposition to Québécois culture—presenting an us and them dichotomy. I perceived a latent prejudice and superiority regarding facets of intellectualism and social class. My exposure to Québécois culture was limited by my geography, culture and language, and by my own idea of French Canadians.

My artistic approach is both experiential and intensely personal—it is my search for identity, meaning and belonging. By observing the routines and spaces of strangers, I begin to form a tapestry of their lives, learning from them in an attempt to fill the gaps in my own psyche. I am constantly trying to push through my personal boundaries and ideas of the world. In this respect I liken my process to that of an explorer, searching for connection, for fleeting moments where I feel accepted, and where collaboration and cultural understanding can be fostered.

Relationships and intimacy are a preoccupying fascination because they are something I have yet to fully experience. However, I feel the absence of intimacy has opened me up to unique ways of seeing the world and human nature.

I photograph to discover, understand and evolve my own identity. The camera provides me access into cultures and situations that are altogether foreign to me. In showing my work, I am showing myself. As an artist I endeavor to create work that synthesizes my interests—examining the boundary between the self and other, the unique kitsch aesthetic, and a visual exploration of Québécois identity and culture in relation to my own.

Links

Mika Goodfriend's website

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