University of New England

Holga: 53 Photographs
Sept. 13 - Nov. 9, 2008

Opening Reception
Saturday, Sept. 13, 3:00-6:00 p.m.

Untitled 2007, Andy Graham, Spencer Pond Group

Untitled 2007, Andy Graham, Spencer Pond Group

The Exhibition
Five friends involved in the art world, collectively titled the Spencer Pond Group - Alan Bray, Peter Eldridge, Dennis Gilbert, Andy Graham and Juris Ubans - will show their work taken with the Holga camera.

Having spent a week at Spencer Pond every year for many years, last year they decided to capture the spirit of the place with a Holga camera.

The Holga camera is a plastic novelty camera made in China. This toy camera was formerly given away as a carnival prize before being embraced by fine artists seeking its unusual visual effects.

Designed with a single aperture, one shutter speed, and a plastic lens, Holga prints exhibit certain trademark distortions, including vignetting, soft focus, lens flare, and film fogging - allowing the shooting experience to become an opportunity for experimentation.

The results are unpredictable and give new meaning to the act of making fortunate and unexpected discoveries by accident.

This exhibition will be in the lower gallery of the Art Gallery.