Saturday 31 March I went to the Photographers Gallery to see the Deutsche Borse Photography Foundation Prize exhibition. I gained more than just the experience of viewing an exhibition, this was the first study day I have been to. All the others in the group, apart from one person, were ahead of me and had been to a number of study days, so they knew what to expect.
I was very moved by the study of the effects and influence of the chemical giant Monsanto. Mathieu Asselin had spent 5 years researching this, and I expected him to win the competition. However the winner was Luke Willis Thompson who had made a video based on the original footage of the murder of a black American by a white American policeman. The victim’s partner had filmed the incident, and posted on social media. Thompson took this forward and the result was a silent film highlighting the effects the event had on those close to the victim.
I didn’t know until 2 days before that the study days are also opportunities to get feedback on our work. I took along some work, although it was difficult to see because my printer wasn’t working very well and we were sitting in a dark corner of a local pub. Nevertheless, everyone looked at my work and I had some very useful feedback and comments. Thank you Jayne for holding a torch above us!
