how to go about an exhibition… the newbie way…

December 23, 2009 in how-to, photography, ramblings, thoughts
Tags: art, choices, curator, delegate, exhibit, gallery, how-to, muse, singapore, wahliao, wong kin leong

I was asked to participate in an exhibition for a gallery, mainly a charity event and also to get the New Year off to a good start for some kids out there.

But the trick is, I am only allowed a small budget to spend, and only with a time of 3 days to get my works together. The good thing is, I am doing this with 3 other local photographers and I only need to come up with 5-7 photos to be printed, mounted and delivered. Not too difficult you might think, until I sat down wondering about the theme.

My-4-walls.

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I have spent most of this year working for events, weddings and whatever photographic works that came by and suddenly realized that I haven’t much material to come up with for an exhibition. So going out of the way to cast a theme and set about producing works within 3 days would have just been impossible and more importantly, costly. So I dug in through some of my works that I shelved when I was working and sat down going about an exhibit.

So here’s what I learnt:

1) Get a team together.

Delegate workload to other people. It is difficult to focus on your photography pieces if you have to worry about other things like getting printers, lighting, decorations, caterers, etc. Your main aim is to make sure your photos are top notch for the exhibition. The rest, teamwork.

2) Sit down and think of what you want people to see.

By far the most time consuming for me, figuring out the “me” that I would like to portray was the toughest bit for me. Thoughts that ran through my mind always came to: would I be putting the right message across. Is the works I chose representing me and what I am. Would I be too bothered ten years down the road when I look back and think these works weren’t the right choice.

I believe being a photographer, and to a certain sense, an artist, we have a responsibility to affect people in the way we would like them to be affected. My piece of work should stand for a reason, otherwise, I choose not to bring into existence those works that is in my hands. After saying such, an art piece which takes a well regarded amount of space and time interacting with us is only worth considering if it brought about changes to our state of mind and thought outcomes. And that is where I spent a lot of my time. Giving birth is not a matter of just, it is a matter of why.

So think hard of what effect you are looking for, and would the selection fall into that criteria. Usually, I sleep on it for a night and if I have no nightmares over my selection, I think I pretty much got it right.

3) Be Happy

I have seen too many angry people when they start working on a project and what could have been something great turns out not much so with all the angst. Stay happy and be glad you are creating. This affects the mood of people around you and also the way the exhibit is curated. You must be wondering, how does this connect to an exhibition. Well, it is quite simple. An exhibition is a display of not only your works, but a representation of yourself. Your freedom to express and your vibes are in your work, starting from selection, to the whole creative process of setting up the exhibit by the curator. The curator feeds off your emotions and goes about setting up the gallery trying to represent you. And this means your viewers will be in direct contact with your emotions within the exhibit. Generally, vibes can be felt in an exhibition if the artist permeates those vibes.

4) Your Curator, Your Twin Self

Have a good talk to your curator. Sit down and brainstorm over what is your artistic views. Unless your curator is your best friend, chances are, they will have no inkling as to what you would be like and how they should go about presenting your works. A good way is to start saying things that affect you, keywords like love, freedom, art, anger, earth, life, existence, should start you off on the right track. Make sure your works are also familiar to the curator and how you feel about your work. That takes a lot of anxiety out from you when u get a viewing and people start asking you questions, your curator will be able to help you out when it gets too overwhelming.

5) Know wat to say.

An exhibit is a very important exercise of expressing your works in words. Your viewers would like to know what went through your mind, or stories to the works. And they won’t stand there figuring it out, they’ll ask you right out. You definitely don’t need a script but do have a good thought over how to express yourself as an artist. More often than not, a picture speaks a thousand words, but your gallery needs a hundred more just to make sure they understand it. Be honest about your intentions and believe in yourself. Your works does the rest.

6) Have fun!

An exhibit is when you are done with all the nitty gritty work. Now sit back and have a look at your creation. It is all about learning, and taking in the moment. I don’t have to tell you how to have fun now do I? Go on… get an exhibit up!