The Sans Camera exhibition was a two-week long exhibition held at Galerie 5.6 at the art department, University of Ottawa. This was a student effort, collaborating to curate a themed exhibition. The work chosen was from out first photography assignment, using pinhole cameras as well as photograms and invented negatives. Working as a group, we were able to choose two works from each person, selecting out of the ones the student wanted to exhibit. The photograms and invented negatives were then displayed in a portrait manner, laid across one wall with the pinhole photography reflecting them on the other side. The exhibition even went around the corner and down the corridor, enticing people to see it when they were walking through the department. To further entice those in the department to take a look at the exhibition, the pinhole cameras were displayed on a wall upstairs on the main floor, with instructions to go downstairs and see the photos that these cameras produced.
Those who came to the exhibition reception, held at the end of the exhibition, found viewing the cameras very exciting as they were not anticipating cardboard boxes and coffee tins. Holding the exhibition in Galerie 5.6 also allowed those visiting to gain more of an idea of our process and areas that we work in, allowing them to somewhat appreciate the work further.
The two works I submitted to the exhibition were “to pytalise” , an invented negative of my saliva, and Churchgoers, a pinhole photograph of cars lined up by the nearby church. These suited the theme of the exhibition, but also stood out, especially that of “to pytalise”, due to its subject matter.
The exhibition has now moved to Paradigm(e) Gallery, which is the Dean’s gallery at the University of Ottawa until the end of February, where they are all on sale.
