Exhibitions

- from the exhibition 'Another Day in My Kingdom'

Another Day in My Kingom

THE POTLATCH FOUNDATION

April 12th - May 11th 2007

Another Day in My Kingdom is a collaborative project that brings together five international aid workers from Afganistan, Kenya, Argentina, India and Palestine.

The project started in 2005, when the Potlatch Foundation used an internet website to contact aid workers who were interested in working with a visual artist. Five aid workers volunteered, and each was sent a disposable camera and was asked to use it to document their daily routines. The cameras were posted back and the images were developed. From these, the Potlatch Foundation made a selection of images to work with. The selection is presented in the form of ‘Viewmasters’, specially-commissioned for the main Gallery of Photography space.

Familiar to many from their youth, traditional Viewmasters were educational toys which presented stereoscopic views of tourist sites, the wonders of the world, etc. Here, the Potlatch Foundation presents radically different images in Viewmasters alongside censored correspondence and crudely edited video interviews. Deliberately open-ended and lo-tech, the exhibition raises questions about the politics of photographic representation. It aims to provide a space where the complex traffic of imagery between the developed and the developing world can be explored. Further, it aims to open up a place for idealism and altruism in contemporary globalised society.

About the artist
The Potlatch Foundation was established by artist Mark Clare in 2004. It derives its name from the complex ceremonies celebrated by certain indigenous peoples where social status is raised not by owning and controlling resources, but by giving them away.

The Foundation wishes to thank the five international aid workers: Mark Montgomery based in Kabul, Afghanistan; Joseph Thiga Mwangi in Nakuru, Kenya; Dr. Marcelo. A. Murillo in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Devendra Jaitly in Utter Predesh, India; and Bob May, in Palestine. This is an organic project, open to mutation and expansion. Any parties interested in participating in the development of the Project please email the Potlatch Foundation at contact@potlatchfoundation.org.

The exhibition will be launched on Wednesday April 11 at 6.30pm. It marks the final show in the Gallery of Photography’s season of exhibitions exploring the role of photography in addressing issues of global development.

Gallery open: Tuesday - Saturday 11am-6pm, Sunday 1pm-6pm

For further information visit:

Potlatch Foundation Website www.potlatchfoundation.org

For press scans, or to arrange an interview, please