This article is from page 42 of the 2008-07-01 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 42 JPG
THREE decades of laughter, local happenings and community spirit are captured in the latest event to be hosted at the X-PO project in GTi eyey’7
“An Udder View” is an exhibition with a difference – a collection of community photographs spanning 28 years taken by Kilnaboy native Peter Ree. The photos mix the old and the new, people and places, and track the very heart of the small community and how it has evolved since 1980.
‘“T’ve been taking photographs since I was a child. I don’t leave the door in the morning without the camera with me,” said Peter.
“This exhibition is nothing to do
with photography really. It’s about getting people together and com- municating, about getting people to meet and chat the way they used to do in the post office long ago.”
From the vantage point of his truck, Peter has taken more than 50,000 pictures. These were sorted, dated and 1,000 were chosen to be part of the exhibition. Of these photos, 150 were chosen to be in a special slide- show projected in the X-PO.
“There are pictures in there you can’t get back again. Things change – people hair, fashion, their appear- ance – you can’t stage pictures like these again. The beauty of being in the truck is that you get to see a lot of things that people might not oth- erwise see,’ continued Peter.
‘The reaction of the locals has been brilliant. ’’ve seen families coming back three nights in a row to give themselves time to look through the albums properly and slowly. Some people have gotten emotional about it, walked out of the room shaking their head. But the next night then they’re back for more. They are look- ing at their own lives and the lives of their family and friends down the years.”
“An Udder View” is the final exhi- bition in the X-PO project. Project organiser Deirdre O’Mahony is hopeful that the revival of the former post office as community space will continue long after the project itself.
“The local people have reacted so brilliantly to this project,’ said Deir-
dre.
‘The time that people have to talk to each other, just passing time with your neighbours is not the same as it once was. The places where you can do that has diminished. The question is how can we hold on to the won- derful community that we have in Kilnaboy and places like it all over the country.”
An Udder View continues at the X- PO until July 13.