Ugly Twist in my Exhibit

I was screwed over for the second time in my nearly year-long quest to get my exhibition up and running. I got a text message from one of the men who run the Mozambican Photography Association telling me that my agreed exhibition time has been cut. Strangely enough, I was working with Melissa, the friend assisting me, designing the program for the show and doing the cover information which included the dates, location and show title. It made me more angry than I can express and almost seemed a bit surreal.

Living in Mozambique, you learn to live with corrupt police, shady business practice, non-existent customer service, uncourteous drivers, potholes, random public urination but you don't have to like it. This is the second time this has happened to me. Originally, I had been trying to have my exhibition at the French Mozambican Cultural Center which is the best venue in Maputo. It was not a pleasant experience since they offered me a commission in June only three weeks before the date they wanted me to exhibit. I told them no. After my rejection-which they were unhappy with because June is Mozambican environmental awareness month (they have one, really) and they thought my show would work well then, they eventually moved on. I was told that we would do it in the time I originally wanted, early November.

I left it at that feeling very good with my meeting at the center. Maria Elisa, the exhibit coordinator, assured me that I was as good as gold and would have my spot. When I returned from my three months away, that changed. She said I would have to share the space with another photographer. I refused. She later gave me a time in March, 2010. I refused. I was upset and disappointed with that considering the process to get the space last February.

After that I went to the Mozambican Photography Association. It went very easily and quickly considering the time and hoops I had to jump through at the French Cultural Center. I am friends, or so I thought, with the main people in charge there which gave me no reason at all that there might be a problem.

Lest than a month before my show, they alerted me that my time would be 21 – 30 November rather than the originally agreed upon 8 – 28 November. I am losing a week, plus that falls on Thanksgiving week which is a big American holiday time when many American expats and their families leave town. But, I have gotten sponsors who think the show will be two weeks. I have to run it by them since they are giving me there money to be associated with it. Perhaps it's not the end of the world, but having two weeks has been important to me from the beginning and losing one matters. More than that, the ease of backing out of agreements is astounding.

Today, I'm going to weigh my options which isn't a lot. I can either pay much more money at the Fortaleza, an old fort downtown that is sometimes used for event and exhibitions (World Press Photo has their exhibit there right now) or a couple of other lesser venues. It is awful to scramble so late in the game. It will also be a lot more expensive.

This is not fun.

Post-Tutorial Major Project Blues

Vanishing Coast - Images by Michael Barrientos

After our group tutorial with Mr. Easterby, I took his very simple advice in my editing dilemma: "make prints." It was a simple idea that I practiced daily for years, but one that somehow forgot all this time in computerland. I made small prints of my project and have been laying them out in various layouts or in my gallery set-up. I've been able to eliminate quite a few and clarify what I want to say.

Two aspect of this process that have been difficult beyond the several pending deadlines I have (printing, catalogue printing, and our final deadlines for the major project) are editing with individuals getting different verdicts and the absence of many people to work with in making a final decision. In my newspaper years, when I was presenting my own work or projects as a photographer, I ran it by several people in both group editing sessions or intimate one-on-one situations. As it went up the line different people got to hear the pitch and see the work. It sharpened you. As an editor, much the same type of situation existed with me as the advocate taking the work down the line.

This lack of layers of editors has been something in my process that has been a struggle. As I've noted before on several occassions, I'm not the greatest editor of my own work.

I'm still milling these picture over and 'living with them a while' even though I'm "sick of them" as John so rightly put it. I have to produce an exhibition catalogue and a poster for printing this week and start having my actual prints made by a printer in South Africa. I'm feeling more confident in what I've narrowed down to.

In my exhibition, I plan to display my photos in a linear fashion by going in geographical order in the areas of the 10 kilometer strip of coast it was taken. Last month, I hired folk artists to build a 3-dimensional map of the Marginal which I will display along with my photos in order to give viewers an idea of where various activities take place. I also plan to run a loop of recorded sound that I have recorded.

The Best Camera is the One That's WIth You

Chase Jarvis, a guy who's a good enough photographer that Nikon asked him to advance test the Nikon D90, just put out a photo-book called "The Best Camera Is The One That's With You". He only used an iPhone.

"The Best Camera is the One That's WIth You."

click for book summary

Budget

Click to Enlarge. It seems everyone was interested in how much I was paying for my show during our Wimba Arms meeting on Monday night (I'm still working on getting sponsors, so hopefully nothing), however, here's my budget. Melissa, the friend who is assisting me, actually formatted this pretty budget, and I've been sending out as part of my package to potential sponsors because they all want to know these details. As far as sponsors, I have one and two more seem like they're going to help: Standard Bank will pay for my prints and matting (if it goes through), and SAB Miller will provide beverages (beer) if that works out. As much as it is, it's still much cheaper than it would be in the UK or US, but in all it's a give and take.

Major Project Tutorial Update

My final project is titled "Vanishing Coast," and I will present it in an exhibition scheduled November 14 – 28 in Maputo, Mozambique. With the exhibit, I will have a 30-page catalogue printed up as well as promotional posters. The exhibit will include 40 prints and ambient sound that I have collected from various groups I have photographed.

This project is a continuation of one that I began at the start of the course examining the 10 kilometer strip of coast in Maputo called the Marginal. Working from the idea that coastal erosion, a major problem not only in Maputo but throughout Africa, may completely wash away the beaches here in what an expert estimated between 10 and 50 years. It is an ethnographical study of the people who use the beach: religious groups, fishermen, and those using it for recreation as one of the only green spaces in the city, whether for football, martial arts or sunbathing.

Ultimately, I'd like to have the work published in book form, using the exhibition and catalogue as a selling point in pursuing publishers.

Here's where I am. I have tight deadlines. My catalogue and posters must go out to print in two weeks time to make the show. Yet, I am still pushing for at least one more sponsor. At this point I only have one, Southern Sun Hotels, and have gone to several corporate entities such as Anadarko (an American oil company), Mozal (an aluminum corp), several banks, telecommunication companies, and a major beer company. This week, I should get the answers from the remaining groups I met with and did presentations.

Next, I actually have to have my work printed, which will be done in Nelspruit, South Africa-four hours away. However, I am working on my final edit, which has been very stressful. Then I will start doing promotion and publicity in the city. I have a friend, a photographer and former sports marketing expert, who has been assisting me. I also have a Mozambican photographer friend who will help me in publicizing and translating into Portuguese.

This has been an intense experience so far and has been underway really since February, but has picked up steam as the date approaches. It has been eye opening as far as the amount of work, planning and money it takes to do a credible exhibition that one can be proud of.

Finally, I intend to do a multimedia piece aside from my exhibition for the final which will include interviews and ambient sound. I don't intend to shoot anymore for the project but am planning a number of interviews with several of my sources in researching. Editing, again, I expect to be toughest.

www.vanishingcoast.info