April 12, 12.10-2.50PM
Wollman Hall, 65 W 11th St, New York, New York
This event is open to all students and faculty.

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On April 12th, British photographers Maria Falconer and Paul Hill, renowned author and educator will be presenting two projects. The first, Anon, came about when they both decided to volunteer in the refugee camps on the Greek Island of Lesvos and on the border of Greece and Macedonia. The title and their photographs reflect the anonymity and depersonalization of refugees who have had to flee their countries in the Middle East and North Africa to stay alive, literally, economically, and psychologically.

The other project, titled Empty Fantasies, looks at the remains of empty photographic sets. Fantasy and illusion have always gone hand in glove in photography since its inception in 1839. Photographers have created sets in their studios and even in today’s Photoshop world, man made sets of illusion are still in photographers’ studios, because the physical nature of these spaces are still essential in the world of glamour photography in particular.

When empty, these sets seem strange and eerie, even surreal. What slices of reality are they mimicking – and for what purpose are they used? The photographs of Falconer and Hill hint at their purpose, and combined with the quotes of the users, (photographers and models) record another reality. The tension between those words and their photographs only serves to reflect how important fantasies are to our lives and how parallel universes are more tolerable than the ones we live in.