Melonie Bennett, Christmas Eve at Dave’s House, 1/8, 2001, Inkjet Print, 26 x 40 inches

Our Christmas Eve ritual was to go to my brother-in-law’s house to help him bring out all of the presents and put them ‘under’ the Christmas tree. The angel was usually struggling to be seen, the tree invisible behind hundreds of gifts stacked around it. Dave tasked himself with placing each present according to size, weight and colour in whatever formation he envisioned that year. He took many cigarette breaks to critique his creation and after spending thousands of dollars and countless hours shopping, wrapping and stacking, he pondered it all with anticipation, just as his parents had done for him. He did cut the rule of making his kids eat the tangerines from their stocking before the presents could be opened.

Print shown in HolyCow! a romp through 20 years of family photographs by Melonie Bennett. The black and white images in this unconventional family album were made between 1990-2011. They depict the rituals, traditions, dramas, laughter, gatherings, the dogs and the drunken exploits alongside quieter moments of reprieve—they show the rollercoaster of human life.

Statement on Works By Melonie Bennett:

In high school, I was shy and naive. When my father spread manure in fields that bordered classmates’ homes, I wanted to be invisible. Being the oldest, I thought I had to behave. I never dared to party or skip school. It wasn’t even an option. My siblings sure made up for it—they were wild. But I found my groove. I took a high school darkroom class, at the same time that I took on the role as the designated driver for family and friends to parties. This gave me the license to observe and take pictures of what other people, including my family were doing. And I didn’t have to drink! What a gift from God.’ -M.B.

“As photographing my family became more routine, Merritt (my brother) thought it would be clever to start gifting me a single, unwrapped roll of film on these occasions. He would just laugh and say ‘that’s all you’re getting’—mocking me, my picture-taking and loving the ribbing he was doling out. But in fact, each time he had spent six bucks on me and had to make the effort to shop—this proved he loved me, right? I told him he should save his money and write down his stories as my gifts instead.' -M.B.