Michael Robinson, Gleaner Writer
Images from the Click annual photography exhibition and art sale. The exhibit, which opened last Thursday at Olympia Gallery, features photos taken by inner-city teens. Proceeds will go towards the participants' educational expenses. - Photos by Michael Robinson
The creative adventures of an intrepid group of inner-city teenagers form the basis of 'Click', an exhibition now on at Olympia Gallery. Still lifes, portraiture and action shots are all part of the array of images captured by the teens ranging in age from 13 to 17 years old.
For four summer weeks, the youngsters learned about various aspects of digital photography and art from a team of visual artists, including Damien Baddy, Dorian Clarke, Joanna Francis, Shatha Grant, Abidan Tafari and Yakub. They were also treated to informative presentations by professionals like music video director Jay Will and veteran event photographer Roy Sweetland.
Sweetland, himself a proud product of the inner city, jumped at the chance to be part of what he deems "an essential programme". He says the Click teens were thrilled to hear about aspects of visual communication from experts who are practising in these exciting fields.
The small room allotted to the exhibit is teeming with scores of images of Jamaica, as seen through the eyes of these young artists. In a display that should make their tutors proud, they show off their grasp of composition, lighting, angles and depth of field. Each photograph is uniquely interesting.
rich textures
One shows an elderly lady making a face at the photographer. The visual and psychological textures in the picture are rich as she sits holding her skirt on a red floor beside a bright blue door. On the same wall, an impromptu dance is captured between some youths by a swimming pool. Another is a baby cat, mouth stretched open in a frozen scream. Still another shows a young man impossibly balancing on a clothes line.
The images are well composed and the content is visually compelling. Here a man rides his bicycle through flood waters; there a dog is snapped from a worm's eye view. It is obvious that these kids have learnt how to create appealing imagery.
In a diverse four-week programme based at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus, the participants also went on field trips and learnt about nutrition and conflict resolution. Click also exposed the teens to stop animation techniques and software like Adobe Photoshop and GIMP for the manipulation of photographs.
This is Click's third year in action, thanks to Super Plus, the Violence Prevention alliance and a slew of corporate sponsors. The programme is intended to add to the skill sets of its participants while empowering them to impart their newly acquired knowledge to those around them in their respective communities. It also gave them something to do during the break from school and "kept them out of trouble", according Oran Goulbourne.
two-year course
Last year, the programme's organisers saw fit to make Click a two-year course, due in part to requests from the teens themselves. Four weeks is, in fact, a short time to delve into such a rich experience. For many, this will no doubt stimulate career paths and life choices that were hitherto unimaginable. The experience has changed them and their world views. If we are lucky, these Jamaicans will now go out and be change.
Click's Class of 2008 are: Ruel Anderson, Barrington Black, Garfield Brown, Nemo Brown, Yusef Brown, Jason Burbles, Owayne Bushay, Adrian Dennie, Rolando Downer, Danniecia Fraser, Oran Goulbourne, Chantau McMaster, Pauline Mills, Andrew Morgan, Shanice Nevers, Nareisha Small, Ayana Tomlinson and Garfield Vincent.
exposed the teens to stop animation techniques and software like Adobe Photoshop and GIMP for the manipulation of photographs.
This is Click's third year in action, thanks to Super Plus, the Violence Prevention alliance and a slew of corporate sponsors. The programme is intended to add to the skill sets of its participants while empowering them to impart their newly acquired knowledge to those around them in their respective communities. It also gave them something to do during the break from school and "kept them out of trouble", according Oran Goulbourne.
two-year course
Last year, the programme's organisers saw fit to make Click a two-year course, due in part to requests from the teens themselves. Four weeks is, in fact, a short time to delve into such a rich experience. For many, this will no doubt stimulate career paths and life choices that were hitherto unimaginable. The experience has changed them and their world views. If we are lucky, these Jamaicans will now go out and be change.
Click's Class of 2008 are: Ruel Anderson, Barrington Black, Garfield Brown, Nemo Brown, Yusef Brown, Jason Burbles, Owayne Bushay, Adrian Dennie, Rolando Downer, Danniecia Fraser, Oran Goulbourne, Chantau McMaster, Pauline Mills, Andrew Morgan, Shanice Nevers, Nareisha Small, Ayana Tomlinson and Garfield Vincent.
