Between design projects and architectural case studies, invisible yet omnipresent, there is a subspecies of Waterloo Architecture students that makes itself known only through hip Facebook albums and soft shutter clicks. Photographers – nobody can deny that the UWSA houses some of the most spectacular of the kind. Last Thursday’s UWSA Photography Collective Exhibit was an effort to bring to light the often-overlooked talent of the Waterloo Architecture photographers and reconcile this insatiable and school-wide passion.
“In some ways, it’s about mental health,” Fysal Amirzada, a third-year architecture student who spearheaded the event organization, says. “More students should take up whatever they’re interested in because it’s easy to get engulfed in a school like this.” Fysal stresses the importance of putting time into the things that make a person happy. According to him, organizing an exhibit like this means that we are a community that gathers around hobbies, a community that supports extracurriculars outside of architecture.
The exhibit itself also stood out in the sheer variety of things it had to show. All present study terms were represented – 1A, 2A, 3B, and even masters students – and both film and digital works were on display. Styles ranged from photojournalism to vernacular, portrait to candid, panoramic to macro. Every corner of the room was a delightful achromatic or full colour tease; pictures took viewers from Cambridge to Toronto to Cambodia, Morocco, Israel, Hong Kong, and so on. Needless to say, the exhibit’s goals were happily met – photography discussion was ignited, student work was admired, and everybody had a good time.
Contributors to the exhibit set up their photographs the night before the show. Photo: Piper Bernbaum
The exhibit yielded an impressive turn out. Students of UWSA and supporting community members were keen not to miss out on the opportunity to see photos and friends. Photo: Zak Fish
Photo: Zak Fish
Photo: Zak Fish
Photo: Chanel Dehond
Photos were displayed on walls, OSB boards, easels and clothing lines; some were assembled in DIY booklets and suspended in air. Photo: Connor O’Grady
Viewers were stunned and captivated by the many photographs on display. Photo: Zak Fish
Photo: Zak Fish
Photo: Connor O’Grady
Photo: Connor O’Grady
Visitors experienced the BRIDGE Pop-Up transform into a hub for photography. It was a feat that could not be possible without painstaking preparations on behalf of the contributors and good spirits on behalf of the attendees (plus a bit of cleaning). Photo: Zak Fish
In countless aspects, the school’s inaugural photo collective exhibit was a success. The University of Waterloo School of Architecture Photography Collective is always open to photography enthusiasts and is eager to host future exhibits and carry on the tradition for terms to come.
Contributing photographers : Fysal Amirzada, Piper Bernbaum, Peter Bohdal, Darien Boodan, Kate Brownlie, Patrick Cheung, Jonas Chin, Wesley Chu, Gabriela Chorobik, Chanel Dehond, Patrick Harvey, Brendan De Lacy, Shanze Kazi, Leo Liu, Bianca Weeko Martin, Samiha Meem, Thomas Noussis, Jeff So, Mac van Dam, ZiCheng Xu
Leave a Reply