The Official MIPP Newsletter
April 2016
FOCALPOINT
Issue No. 64
www.mipp-malta.com
EDITORIAL If I had to look back to this
past year, I think already has happened and we aren’t even half way through to 2016 yet. One thing I have been noticing and which pleases me
If you want your photos featured on the newsletter’s front page just send the images to newsletter@mippmalta.com. Your contributions are always welcome!
immensely is the high standard of work being submitted by our members in this year’s PTYA competition. Quite frankly I can’t wait for this October to find out who the winner will be. We have two very good events happening this month. We already had Dominic Aquilina’s talk, however this Tuesday 19th April do not miss out on Stephanie Scicluna’s talk and also on the 26th April there is the Image Assessment with Kevin Casha. I urge you to keep these two evenings free and attend these talks. I am sure that they will be of benefit to everyone. Meanwhile enjoy the warm weather which hit us of late and do share your photos with us on our Facebook Wall.
Find us on:
Newsletter Team Editor: Therese Debono Design: Therese Debono Article Vetting: Vince DeBono Articles: Various contributors
Keep smiling!
Editorial Advice: Kevin Casha
Therese
Contact: newsletter@mippmalta.com
CONTENTS
APRIL 2016 pg 2 pg 8 pg 10 pg 12 pg 17 pg 19 pg 20 pg 24 pg 25 pg 26
cover artist
President’s Viewpoint MIPP Notices Out & About Exhibition Review MIPP Talk MIPP Event MIPP Workshop MIPP Calendar MIPP Notice Members’ Gallery
Photography as Activism MIPP Mentoring Services April Events Alec Soth Stephanie Scicluna Talk Archery & Photography Carnival Mark your diaries! Membership Renewal PTYA Round 1
Marika Mallia Scerri Name: “The end is nEigh” “This photo is of one of ‘The Kelpies’ sculpture in Falkirk, Scotland. Legend has it that these are mythological shape-shifting water beasts that preyed on and devoured humans. In this image I married the Scottish mythological beliefs with ‘The Four Horsemen’ riding through the biblical apocalypse. Hence the Kelpie with its ‘nEigh’ sound veiled in an orangey monochrome as an allusion to an ominous sandstorm that would bring an end to this world - ‘The end is nigh’. In addition, I opted for the water reflection in order to emphasise its monstrous size and give it some depth.”
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Photography as Activism: Vanishing Malta
I could not have been more pleased
when APS Bank first approached me with the proposal of working on a series of photographic art exhibitions and publications. Here was a strong, local commercial enterprise putting its faith in the photographic medium. After some initial brainstorming, it was agreed that the first project theme that was to be explored would be ‘Vanishing Malta’. The proposed collaboration on this theme ticked all the right boxes: it would help create further awareness of photography on our island, it would be a vehicle to promote and generate interest in the preservation of our cultural Heritage and, further to all that, it would present a chance for promising photographic artists not only to exhibit but also to have their work published. The idea of this series of yearly projects is to identify a challenging subject which is relevant to our island and that preferably contains a social message. Malta is blessed which such a profuse and colourful heritage - a heritage which, apart from academics and scholars, is perhaps not appreciated and nurtured enough by the general public. The local authorities seem also over stretched, both financially and perhaps through other priorities, thus the involvement of commercial enterprise,
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non-governmental organizations and public spirited individuals is vital to art and culture spheres. Luckily, Malta is fortunate to have a great number of people who are passionate on what they do, not mainly for financial gain but primarily because their life and work revolves around art. Even with unlimited resources, culture and art would still not substantially evolve if it was not for such persons and entities. When outlining the initial ideas of this project, I wanted to really give an opportunity to photographers who, in my opinion, possess a lot of promise for Maltese photography. Age or gender was not important but what was foremost was that they all had a passion for photography, a good grounding in techniques, a creative eye and were not averse to work hard. Another factor which I took into consideration was that they had never before staged an individual personal exhibition. Through experience, I can appreciate what it entails to do a personal exhibition. Expense and logistics are the obvious deterrents for promising photographers. Thus, in this manner, I could offer practical help which in my days, alas, was not so forthcoming.
viewpoint
Anastasia Zhukova Rizzo
The five artists of this particular project come from very different backgrounds and age groups. I also felt that it was also important to choose photographers who are resident in Malta but not only those born on the island. I have always believed, particularly before the age of internet that whenever the possibility arises, artists on our island need to network with foreign artists. It is only in this manner that artists can broaden their horizons whilst at the same time artistically and conceptually engage with the culture and mindset of people living in other areas of the globe. I particularly feel that the situation we currently have on our island calls for all valid initiatives that can help to encourage culture diversity and integration. For this reason, I chose Japanese photographer Tomoko Goto and Latvian born
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Tomoko Goto
Anastasia Zhukova (now Rizzo) so that I could garner a ‘foreign’ view of how Malta is perceived. Martin Agius, a well established photojournalist adds professionalism and experience, whilst Lorraine Abela and Mark Pace, who are both young and have recently gained their Higher National Diploma in photography, round up the group with their enthusiasm and contemporary conceptual outlook. This project would not have been possible without the help of various writers who contributed to the relevant text in the publication. Finally, I would like to sincerely thank the APS Bank Management and staff for making this idea materialize. The bank has always believed in making Maltese Society aware of our heritage and has always been on the forefront in encouraging local art and artists. The Bank’s belief in photographic art is extremely beneficial not only for local photographers but
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also for enabling the general public to further appreciate and cherish our inimitable heritage. I hope that visitors to the ‘Vanishing Malta’ exhibition and readers of this book are stimulated to think deeper into what makes our beloved little island. PS: The exhibition is open to the public at APS Bank branch in Swatar as follows: Monday to Friday from 08:30hrs to 13:00hrs and Saturday from 08:30hrs to 11:15hrs. For those who would like to get the full story of the project, you can purchase the hardback book, designed and printed by Midsea Books, directly from Swatar or order it from other APS branches. Book price is €35. Article by Kevin Casha
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Martin Agius
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Lorraine Abela
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Mark Pace
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MIPP – Mentoring Service for Qualifications
Mentoring Service for Malta Institute of Professional Photography (MIPP) Qualifications
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hen applying for MIPP Qualifications in October, the applicant needs to start preparing early and in a structured manner. Leaving things until the last minute is a sure way of failing. If you are not sure that your work is up to any of the required level, simply utilise the benefits of the ‘MIPP MENTORING SERVICE.’ This is done in the following manner:
Free Mentoring Service – Only available for fully paid members: 1. Applicants must submit online a selection of images that they believe should go into their qualification panel. (20 jpeg 300 dpi images, 2000 pixels on the longest side not larger than 2 MB per file). The files are to be subsequently numbered 1-20 and are to be sent to submissions@mipp-malta.com. 2. It is necessary for the applicants to decide on the theme of the panel before sending in the images (themes are found at: www.mipp-malta.com/index.php/qualifications, and clicking on MIPP Qualification Regulations page 8). Naturally, the images submitted must conform to the theme/genre chosen. 3. All applicants are to fill in and submit the appropriate Mentorship Application form (the form for which may be downloaded from www.mipp-malta.com/index. php/qualification-structures). 4. Applicants will receive, through email, an MIPP approved mentor’s evaluation and assessment on whether the level is deemed to be sufficient for the level of qualification. Suggestions will also be given accordingly. 5. Submissions which are not in the correct format will not be assessed. However, an email will be sent to request another submission in the correct format. 6. Replies to submissions take usually fifteen working days. 7. The deadline for Free Mentoring submissions is the 31st July of each year prior to the Qualification judging month of November of the same year.
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8. Member applicants can submit a maximum of TWO panels per year for the free Mentoring service.
In Depth Mentoring 1. Should the applicant need further guidance and more in depth mentoring on a one to one basis, the applicant can choose to engage one of the MIPP official Mentors who are announced each year in February. 2. Fees for mentoring are of ₏10 per hour and are to be directly paid to the Mentor. 3. It is recommended that official Mentors be approached by not later than the 31st of May of each year. This should give enough time for the right guidance to be given in preparing a panel. Notes Mentoring DOES NOT guarantee success but is intended to guide and help the applicant with his Qualification submission. Mentors are NOT at any time to physically edit submitted panel images, or have a decisive influence in their creation. Mentors are to guide and recommend, but the final decision in all areas of a submission is to be that of the entrant. The Mentor MUST NOT judge any panels that he/she has mentored and it is the Mentor’s responsibility to inform the co-ordinator of the Qualifications judging panel. Participants are to contact the MIPP committee to be notified on the official Mentors appointed each year. For further information please email at: courses@mipp-malta.com
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OUT AND ABOUT
April Events
As part of its ongoing activities to promote local and foreign artists, the Corinthia Palace Hotel & Spa, Balzan will be hosting an exhibition by photographer Tonio Lombardi and makeup artist Mateja Camilleri, titled HANDSOME at the Orange Grove Art Cafe. The exhibition is curated by artist and resident curator Ray Piscopo. HANDSOME is a series of photographs by Tonio Lombardi featuring body art by Mateja Camilleri. The series depicts a number of desirable human qualities and virtues. In a world in which cash is king and our lives are inundated with fast paced experiences, HANDSOME revisits the fading qualities which drives our need as humans to be around one another. The exhibition runs everyday from the 7th till the 28th of April 2016 between 09:00 and 19:00.
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6th May - 5th June 2016 0605 | 0506 | 2016 is the Graduate Degree Exhibition of the MFA in Digital Arts; a degree within the Department of Digital Arts of the Faculty of Media and Knowledge Sciences at the University of Malta. This fourth MFA exhibition, which focuses on our conceptualisation and perception of time, is the culmination of eighteen months of intensive research and production by Aaron Bezzina, Simon Callus, Audrienne Degiorgio, Samwel Mallia, Daniel Mercieca, Sara Pace, Margerita Pulè, Evgletta Shtohryn and Ezekiel Vassallo. The participating artists work within a variety of media and artistic practices including video installation and documentary, sculpture, photography, animation, digital imaging, painting, illustration, communications design, sound, and interactive applications, through interventions that are driven by contemporary social, political, aesthetic and philosophical underpinnings. The MFA in Digital Arts is a practice-oriented, interdisciplinary programme that seeks to develop a learning environment in which historical traditions and new practices confront and influence each other within a contextual, cultural and theoretical framework. This innitative is part of our Spazju Kreattiv program
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Alec Soth
Tomoko Goto
The American Alec Soth is widely considered to be one of the most influential
photographers of our time. I was fortunate to visit his first retrospective exhibition “Gathered Leaves�, held at the Science Museum in London, last February.
The exhibition presented images from his four signature series: Sleeping by the Mississippi (2004), Niagara (2006), Broken Manual (2010) and Songbook (2014). Soth is often compared to photographers like Stephen Shores and Joel Sternfeld because of his interest in portraying unusual corners of American society. His recent London exhibition was beautifully presented, with large-format images accompanied by artefacts such as texts, letters, and the belongings of his subjects, allowing viewers to access deeper levels of understanding and empathy.
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exhibition review
Soth photographs like an ethnographer, with a compassionate eye and a sensitivity for the people whose lives he portrays. He has a wonderful ability to capture the narratives of his subjects. I wasn’t surprised to discover that he learned his trade while working as a photojournalist for a local newspaper.
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“Niagara” was my favourite part of this exhibit, perhaps because I used to live in southern Ontario, Canada, and the artist revealed an unexpected side of a place that I thought I knew well. Most outsiders have the impression that Niagara is a fancy romantic place that attracts honeymooners and foreign tourists. But Soth’s work in Niagara demystifies our typical perceptions of this popular destination. He shows us portraits of locals who work in the town’s casinos and bars, and of newlyweds who were drawn to Niagara by the promise of love, hope and money. But it’s clear from the shabbiness of their clothing and surroundings that these people are barely making ends meet. In many cases they have become trapped and addicted, and they want to change their lives. The lives of his subjects may sound miserable, but Soth captures their fragile emotions and turns them into strong, compassionate narratives. “To me,” he says, “the most beautiful thing is vulnerability.” In order to capture a subject’s core essence in this way, the photographer must also be courageous and put himself in a vulnerable situation, and so these images are reflections of Alec Soth as well.
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This exhibition at the Science Museum in London ended on March 28th, but the next showing begins April 22nd at National Media Museum in Bradford, UK. For those who have an interest in ‘ethnographical’ photojournalism with a sense of traditional fine art photography, I strongly recommend checking it out. Images & article by Tomoko Goto
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I was here: Photography, Memory & Stephanie Scicluna Death This discussion-based lecture will encourage participants to challenge the ways
in which they see, create and think about photographs.
In old family albums we find photographs which transport us to a different time, serving as storage for our personal narrative. Such archives have been treasured in ways that are slowly vanishing as photography grows faster, cheaper, easier and most of all, readily available and reproducible. Taking photographs has become an integral part of life, as we impulsively pull out our smart phones to record anything and everything; the camera acts as an external hard-drive for our experiences. Are we really experiencing something whilst employing buffers between ourselves and reality? In today’s ‘record more, experience less’ society, the photograph remembers so we don’t have to. The idea of ‘identity’ is constructed through memory and perception, both of which may be manipulated by photographs. The photograph has always claimed to be an accurate recorder of reality and the information gathered form such images is often believed to be truth. When considering a portrait, how much truth could this information hold? We have all sucked in our stomachs and straightened our shoulders in the presence of a camera. We want to present an idealized version of ourselves, one which exists somewhere in between reality and fantasy. Due to the very nature of its construction, the photograph has the ability to manufacture and distort memories and perceptions more profoundly than any other image. The camera will capture the visual representation of what is placed in front of it. The light which bounces off the subject is the same light which hits the negative, and the time the shutter is open is the time when that very moment was in existence. In the same ways that a photograph is proof of existence, it is a realization of death. In this lecture, we will question the authenticity of the photographic image in terms of the ‘real’ and analyse the affects a photograph may have on the viewer. We will explore the ways in which a photograph has the capability to construct and manipulate one’s memory and perceived identity, and how this all ties into photography’s innate relationship with death.
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Archery & Photography We will be organizing something a bit on different lines this time. We are invit-
ing you to join us for a try at Archery! This had been organized a few years back and it had been lots of fun and a great success.
The ‘workshop’ will consist of going for an Archery session under the expert guidance of Armin. We will all have a chance to give it a try as well as be able to take up the challenge of photographing the discipline. We will be meeting at 2.45pm in front of the University Residences Gate [just across from Lija School] on SATURDAY 7th MAY. Address Is: Triq Robert Mifsud Bonnici, Hal Lija (see attached map). Bookings are limited to first come first served – there is a nominal cost of 5 euro each, which is to be paid directly to Armin, our instructor, on the day. Please book by the 1st of May and do make sure to turn up on the day and retain your commitment.
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Carnival Workshop
Photo by Kevin Casha
Photo by Mark Soler
Photo by Adrian Caruana
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Photo by Simon Attard
Photo by Martin Agius
CANON LENS RENTAL SERVICE
Lenses and camera bodies available for hire • • • • • • •
EF 100-400mm f/4-5.6 L IS USM EF 70-200mm 1:2,8 L IS II USM EF 24-105mm 1:4,0 L IS USM EF 24-70mm 1:2.8L USM EF 8-15mm f/4 L USM fisheye EOS 5D III body EOS 6D body
For full details and conditions visit www.avantech.com.mt or call on 2148 8800
Ask about our ‘Try before you buy’ scheme!
CALENDAR Tuesday 19th April
I was here: Photography, Memory & Death by Stephanie Scicluna 19:30 Le Meridien
Tuesday 26th April
Image Assessment - PTYA Entries & General Members Entries by Kevin Casha 19:30hrs, Le Meridiena
Tuesday 3rd May
Preparing files for Printing, the Pro way! - Ramon Sammut 19:30 Le Meridien
Tuesday 10th May
From Finland to Madagascar - Johan Siggesson 19:30 Le Meridien
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mipp notices
MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS
We would like to remind you that we are now accepting payments for 2016 membership renewals.
By renewing the €40 fee (from 2016 it is €40 even for those that have been members for 5 or more years), you will have a chance to: · Get reduced rates to our courses and workshops · Become a qualified photographer with our three levels of qualification: Licentiate, Associate and Fellowship · Reciprocal photographic qualification with the best UK Institution · Informative monthly lectures and newsletters · Exclusive photographic competitions ONLY for MIPP members. .....and much more One may pay by either sending in a cheque to: “27, Moonlight, Giovanni Papaffy Street, Ta’ Paris, Birkirkara, BKR 4021, Malta”, together with the relative membership fee. (Cheques are to be made payable to “The Treasurer, MIPP” OR Pay directly from the BOV website: www.bov.com and log in to BOV internet banking with your Securekey. OR When attending an MIPP Event.
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MEMBERS’ GALLERY
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Two people, two metros, but opposite direction by Kerstin Arnemann
Staircase by Stefan Cachia
The Musician by Dennis Cutajar
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