Camille Kersley, artist and Counsellor of the Yass Arts Health Business will be conducting a pop-up photography exhibition at the Yazzbar, 81 Comur Street. The exhibition, a response to the ‘Yass Sure is a Town’ graffiti motto, will fall between Thursday, the 6th of July to Saturday, the 8th of July. Entry is $10 per person, with the funds going towards Yass CanAssist, the local cancer support network.
Camille spoke about the conception behind the exhibition, linking it to the graffiti motto, as well as the advantages of photography as a creative medium, the creative needs of people in regional areas, and what to expect from the event.
The exhibition was created both in response to CanAssist’s previous fundraiser cancellation, as Camille hoped to support Can Assist this way and make up for their lost fundraiser, and in response to the ‘Yass Sure is a Town’ graffiti motto, allowing people to offer their photographic interpretations of the town.
‘It’s inviting personal interpretations of the title ‘Yass Sure is a Town’ in whatever way feels authentic and interesting to you. It might be literal or completely random. What you see or what you feel, what you know or what you don’t, so whatever that means to people”, said Camille, commenting further on the broad interpretation and meaning;
“I’d like to see what people see, what they look at, what matters to them. So we can show each other what we see, and it could even be things that make someone cry”.
On what to expect from the exhibition, and whether it’s considered an artists gallery, Camiile affirms that the idea was to offer a medium for any person to engage with, as anyone can take photos that mean something to them.
“It’s open to everybody. Very much to move away from just having artists, it’s not just an artist exhibition, it’s for everyone because everyone takes photos. It’s a great opportunity for people to play and just engage that part of themselves”, said Camille.
“How many photos have you got on your phone? I’m not sure we even look back on most of our photos. A lot of people take snaps, whether it’s trees or babies or lone shoes they see in the street or whatever. It’s an even playing field because you couldn’t really do this with painting or drawing because it so leans towards the arts, and that intimidates people because the arts is an industry, and people either think they belong in it or not”.
Attendees are permitted to sell their photos for $40. Posters are set to appear across Yass in the lead-up to the event, with hopes of attracting interest and possibly extending the exhibition/gallery to along other stores on the main street.
Griffin Palen
