Marcel introduced the workshop explaining the history of the Memento project, the 6 other college’s involvement and set about a plan of thinking and action for the 4 days.
Marcel and Roseanne worked with nine of our 2nd year students. The group were mostly from the photography elective, but included two students from other disiplines, who were interested to join having heard about the project.
The process was to include all types of photography to create work around memories of childhood. Marcel asked students to collect information and objects, and to create a personal response to their own memories. Students brought songs, prayers and stories as well as photographs, and other objects. They also looked to other students to involve them in the process of the collection of stories.
There followed an introduction to large format photography and studio lighting for those students whose work was to go in that direction, and the learning curve was steep, the intention being that students could make informed choices relating to their practice.
Students printed in the darkroom or using digital scanning, processing and printing, continually discussing work with the tutors and in group settings.
The resulting work is as varied as the students themselves, those students from other countries who could not access actual objects from their childhood worked in different ways and work reflected the precent tense of these memories.
The response from students to the intensity of the learning was a very positive one, and they are looking forward now to seeing their work in the context of the work from the other institutuions.
Roseanne Lynch
