“If your photos aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough” – these are the words of Robert Capa which partially inspired the December exhibition of Trinity’s photography society (DUPA). The event, “Closer,” was held at Fade Street Studios on the evening of Tuesday, December 5th, and was reminiscent of past winter shows in its focus on connection.
Ella O’Brien, DUPA’s exhibition officer said about the theme, “we usually try to go for a home based, love based theme. So, we wanted to do that but not quite on the nose. We thought ‘closer’ was a nice way of bringing a lot of different ideas together, we wanted to be as open and broad as possible.”
This idea of closeness found itself reflected in the atmosphere of the evening. Mince pies abounded, Zingibeer (DUPA’s partner for the evening) was flowing, laughter and chatter buzzed about the place amid gentle piano music. People bunched together, standing close as they discussed the photos, and the entire space was warm with the holiday spirit.
“The atmosphere is very therapeutic with the lighting, but also there is a chattiness which is encouraging. You want to talk about the photography on the wall, you want to spark conversation and meet new people,” said Anouska Mekerira. This was Mekerira’s first time at a DUPA exhibition, and says she will definitely be back.
Ayesha Hassan, a second year student who has been to several DUPA exhibitions expressed, “I think it’s so cute. I love the theme, because closer can mean so many different things to so many different people. I love how some people took it literally as close up photos, and other people chose being close with their family or friends. I think it’s just really wholesome.”
The selection of photos drew people closer, the connections reflected in the photos reminded people of the important relationships in their own lives.
“My favorite photo here is a photo about friendship. Looking at it, you see two girls embracing each other and looking into each other’s eyes really deeply, and sweetly, and it just reminds me of me and my best friend. She lives in a different country, and I be thinking about her and missing her. I just can’t wait until we get to embrace each other like that again,” said Mekrira.
Others, like Hassan, delighted in the more literal interpretations of the theme. “My favorite is the one by Henry James, and it’s just a photo of a cow. I just think it’s really cute. I love how the cow is just literally the whole photo and it’s just that,” she said.
There were so many potential favorites among the selection, and with the crowds it was clear that DUPA had managed to put on yet another lovely winter exhibition. O’Brien was very proud of the way things unfolded. “The turn out is huge, we’re really, really proud of it despite a lot of people expecting to have another week before exams. So I’m really proud of the turn out, everyone showing up.”
There are more shows to come in the new year, and you do not need to have taken photos before to submit for an exhibition. DUPA welcomes all submissions, and looks forward to pushing the boundaries with themes in the future.
