On May 9th, Belfast Exposed, a gallery in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter, had an opening for its two new exhibitions: Northern Ireland: 30 Years of Photography and Interim, an exhibition of the mid-program work from University of Ulster Belfast’s MFA Photography students. I count myself lucky to learn and be exhibited alongside the fine group of individuals in this latter show, and truly honored to put up work in the same gallery as those included in the former.
The Belfast Exposed announcement of our show, Interim:
http://www.belfastexposed.org/news/story.php?story=339
Interim was the result of the work of 16 MFA students over the past academic year. We have grown together and learned from one another as well as from our tutors. I feel blessed to have been given the opportunity to study in Belfast and with this program. I included two pieces in this exhibition. The first, only visible on postcards and the Interim poster, is a film still from a video I shot of cherry blossoms at night. The work is inspired by my time in Japan and seeks to evoke feelings of memory through its subject matter, imagery, and the tension between moving and still image.
This is the poster from the show displaying a film still from this work:
The second, main piece I included in this show is a still video shot of a clock (without a second hand) played on a loop. The video quality makes it difficult at first to determine whether the work is a photograph or video.
While my travels unfortunately made it impossible to attend the opening of this exhibition, I have come to see that Interim is indeed an appropriate title not only for this exhibition but also for my involvement in the course and in Belfast. This is due to the fact that I have decided to stay on with the course through the autumn semester, despite the conclusion of my Mitchell year. I am greatly looking forward to my continued participation in the course and my additional time in Belfast.
So rather than looking back and reflecting on my Mitchell year, I must admit that for me this is really only the interim, both in terms of my time here and the extent to which this experience will shape my artistic career and my personal life. The long reaching effects of this scholarship and my months on this island are still only beginning to be felt and I feel as though I have just settled into my life here and the true growth is on the horizon.
I would like to thank everyone who supports the Mitchell Scholarship and who made this year possible for myself and my fellow Mitchell classmates. I am so happy and blessed to be where I am and to have had this opportunity, and I only hope that I am able to repay this blessing through a future devoted passionately to this work and to a continued love of Belfast.