Off the beaten track
Students of the Hegoda School of Photography participate in an exhibition without competition
A fortnight ago an Exhibition of Photography was held at the Lionel Wendt Gallery by the students of the Hegoda School of Photography. There were some 160 pictures by about 60 students.
An unusual feature of this exhibition was the absence of awards to the so-called ‘winning pictures’. In the words of Mr Hegoda there is no definite standard by which a photograph can be judged by any panel of judges. The judging therefore is purely subjective. Hence, he says it is meaningless to assign any order of merit to the pictures. This writer feels it is difficult to beat this argument.
On the other hand the contributors to an exhibition would wish to have the views of the judges that would help them to improve their standard of photography. This has been done adequately by the judges in the catalogue. In such comments, comparisons are not made — only the outstanding features are highlighted.
The exhibition had a wide variety of subject matter ranging from candid, abstract, portraiture, and even wild-life. The most interesting thing that this writer noticed was that these students have a remarkable ability to see a picture in everyday scenes that we often fail to notice. Quite a few of them were abstract and some muted in colour or tonal range similar to black and white pictures.
Special mention must be made of the pictures of Nayanahari Abeynayake. Her pictures were all very beautifully executed – ‘story-telling’ and mostly of human interest. She seems to possess not only a sensitive eye but also a feel for the ‘decisive moment’ for clicking.
Altogether it was a fine show and an example to the young generation. These students have shown themselves to be true lovers of photography with an enduring passion — an essential requirement in the production of great works of art.
Follow @timesonlinelk
comments powered by Disqus