Saturday, September 30, 2017

Email: A Nice Evening Out At The AGA For "Turbulent Landings" With New Friends Made

Had a nice refresh evening last night. I visited the Art Gallery of Alberta for their opening for the exhibition "Turbulent Landings".

After a talk at the gallery, I got to speak a bit with one of the exhibition curators Jonathan S about the National Gallery of Canada. We spoke about a person at the CPI, Canadian Photography Institute Andrea K who does work with documentary style photography. This is the first time I have had a name at the National level who I know is concerned and cares deeply about socially relevant concerned documentary photography. 

After getting home from the gallery, I sent out a thank you note to Jonathan and a hello this is my work, my story note to Andrea. It will probably not lead anywhere but heck, no harm in making the effort. The stories I am trying to tell sometimes need a bit of aggressive pushing, those voices need to be heard. Sometimes trying to thrust the stories you think are important into the limelight, is what needs to be done.

Here is the email I wrote and sent, not the most professional written type thing, but it is certainly honest and heartfelt, which is more my style. I do better speaking from the heart. I might not be the most talented creative photog out there, but when it comes to true emotions, heartfelt feelings for the people in the photographs, nothing is lacking.

Now back to my packing for Thai, putting all my sensitive and or heavy gear into bubble rap today! Wow how exciting!! Not as nice a way to spend time as last night but necessary when your traveling half way round the planet. I need all my gear to arrive in good workable condition.

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 Hi Andrea nice to meet you! My name is Gerry
https://www.facebook.com/gerry.yaum

I heard about you and your work with documentary photography at the CPI from Jonathan Shaughnessy. Jonathan was speaking tonight about an opening at the Art Gallery of Alberta here in Edmonton. Finding places that will show and are interested documentary photo work seems so difficult these days. I thought I would take a chance and reach out to you tonight.

I do social documentary photography and wanted to introduce  you to my work. I would also like to ask your advice on getting the work collected and exhibited. My goal with my photography is simple, to tell the stories of my subjects, that's it, nothing else, tell THEIR stories not mine. That is all that matters to me. In fact the name Yaum is not mine, I just use it for exhibitions etc, never felt comfortable putting the real name on the wall, seemed exploitative somehow, it is not about me it is about them. All that matters to me is showing the photographs, telling the stories of my subjects, and helping their lives directly and indirectly.

I am currently working on a project called "Families of the Dump" which deals with the lives of Burmese refugee people (mostly from the Karen ethnic group) who live and work in the Mae Sot garbage dump in Thailand. I have been photographing the families in the Mae Sot dump for the last 4 years. I will continue that work starting in October of this year. I plan to return to the dump to photograph with 35mm and 8x10 film cameras for 6 months (October 2017-April 2018), will also be making a documentary film on the lives of one of the families.

We have also raised close to $3000 which will be given to the families to help the children go to school, buy rubber boots, head lamps food etc. We are also donating some second hand toys for the dump children.


The money was raised from an artist fee I got for showing some of the "Families of the Dump", and from an artist talk on another social documentary artist talk I did "My Fathers Last Days" (detailing my dads last year of life with pancreatic cancer), a gift from dad. Many people (some strangers) also donated money to help the dump families, they had seen the photographs in exhibition or online. For me that is the perfect circle of creative social documentary photo life. You make the pictures, the pictures get shown, then you give back the money earned from the shows to the people in need. Benefits go directly to the people in the pictures, no middle folks siphoning off funds. Another benefit is the photos help educate and inform when exhibited, plus the people here can reach out and help the people there, beautiful!

I am starting to rattle on a bit, better stop writing now. When I get going on my photography it is hard to stop sometimes. Anyway, here are a bunch of links. Please check them out if you have time. I will also be writing daily reports on my photo blog that you can follow over the next 6 months if your interested. I will detail the making of documentary photos, the documentary film and the donation work. Plus I will be posting photos of THAI FOOD!!, you got to love that! Andrea if your in Thai when I am there, send me a note and I can show you round, show you the behind the scenes world many tourists do not see.

On the blog there is 11 years of photo related writing, good and bad on the blog. My heart and soul there, sometimes frustrated, sometimes so excited.


Thanks very much for your patience...!!! Gerry 

"Ain't Photography Grand!!"

PS...here are a ton of links, my presentation is a bit half assed sorry for that. I work security in Edmonton and do the best I have with the limited resources I earn. Basically all my money goes back into my photography and trying to tell the stories of forgotten lives. Plus it is so beautiful to be with the people I photograph, such a privilege to be invited into their lives.

Note* YAUM means security guard in Thai, I learned some of the language way back to help communicate and understand my subjects. 

Some of the dump pictures...from last 2 trips 2015-16

Blog "Families of the Dump" links stories

photo diary blog

youtube page

Video made in the dump in 2013

Video made in the dump 2015 of kids playing with my view camera.

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Past work..

"My Fathers Last Days" 2014-2015

"Thai Sex Worker" Shot from 1996 - 2012 (the white background stuff was shot in studio on location in 2007-09-12). That world was too difficult so left it in 2012, thinking of going back at some point but for now photographing in slums and dumps is much more rewarding, less painful, less ugly.




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Future work.

I plan a cross Canada wet plate photography project (Ambrotypes) documenting my country. I hope to do landscapes, seascapes and portraits using a 35x35 inch view camera (currently being built).


Update* I got no responses to this email. The uppity ups of Canadian photography continue to ignore the stories that I am trying to tell and the important
people photographed, living forgotten lives. I guess that is my fault not theirs, the photos are not compelling enough. It is very frustrating but I will continue on my own way as always. I have to get the stories told, some how some way, I will never give up. I will not be defeated by the indifference of the Canadian Art community (at least some of them!). I need to work harder and dedicate more time and effort to the work. If I had given up after failures in years past, I would not have the important body of work created that exists now (at least in my mind). Sometimes failures spur you forward, you want to show the ignorers, the indifferent types that "THEY ARE WRONG!"

Best to put a smile on these things, these negative moments, feelings and end with a fav goofy comedic moment.
"Never Give Up, Never Surrender" Galaxy Quest
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