Photographic Exhibition - Glenn Edwards
- Date:
- Saturday, 23rd January - Sunday, 28th February 2010
- Venue:
- Rhondda Heritage Park
- Age Restrictions:
- No Min Age
- Cost:
- FREE
A photographic exhibition opening at Rhondda Heritage Park Gallery this week examines peoples’ wants in Africa and in Wales when confronted by the simple question… What is the most important thing in your life? The exhibition is the work of Newport photographer Glenn Edwards who studied under magnum photographer David Hurn from 1983 – 1985. He was UK News Photographer of the Year in 1998. These photographs were taken in a vox pop style, not asking hundreds of people and picking the best, just asking people he has met, asking the question and recording the answers. They cover all ages, occupations and lifestyles in Wales and around Africa. Artists statement: ‘People often ask me how I feel after a trip to Africa, seeing and meeting people living in different cultures and lifestyles. It is always interesting to watch the reactions when I always answer in the positive regardless of the severity of the situation I have been in. It seems peoples’ perception of Africa is dictated by what is seen on TV and in newspapers and that is usually negative. Or through ignorance from racism engrained in minds by education from adult to child. People tend to switch off because of compassion fatigue when another picture of another starving child is seen and then they end up with a total lack of understanding of how people actually live in Africa because of the resulting lack of interest, so negative thoughts and barriers remain. Are we so different just because we live on different continents, just because one lives in the sun and the other the rain, most of the time, because one is rich and one is poor, because one is black and one is white? The idea came when I asked a Head Teacher such a question in The Gambia. He took me by the arm to a pile of bricks outside the school and picked one up. He said ‘ this is the most important thing to me as this will be a new classroom for another 40 children ‘. I wondered what a Head Teacher would say in Newport or Swansea. Are we different? Do we think in a different way? Are our loves and values so alien to each other that we must keep barriers raised? For me the answer is NO!’ Glenn Edwards invites viewers to examine the responses and then decide for your self. Priorities is a Cynon Valley Museum & Gallery Touring Exhibition produced with financial support from the Arts Council of Wales. The show can be seen at Rhondda Heritage Park until 28 February. The Gallery is open Tuesday –Sunday, 9am –4.30pm. Admission is free.
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