Three years ago Scottish photographer Catriona Trafford Fraser left her home near the village of Fettercairn in Scotland and headed for America armed with her camera. She settled with me in our home near Dumfries in Virginia, and a spectacular string of successes followed, including exhibition of her works in several museums in the United States and Latin America. She also managed to win several art competitions such as the 17th International Ft. Smith Photography Competition, the Roseville California Photography Open plus both the 1994 and 1995 Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festivals.
A former photography student of the Plymouth College of Art and Design in Devon, England, Ms. Fraser is now opening the way for the American debut of former schoolmates Karen Watendewao (nee Williams) and Malcolm Sharp.
Fraser has curated an exhibition of 50 black and white photographs, which will be exhibited at the eklektikos gallery in the famed Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. during July and followed, by exhibition at the 49 West Gallery in Annapolis, Maryland.
On the surface, photographers Karen Watendewao and Malcolm Sharp could not be more different. Watendewao, who was born in Cornwall, now lives in the high-paced world of London. Sharp, who was born in India of Scottish parents, lives at the foothills of the Scottish Highlands and revels in the solitude and beauty of some of the world's most awe-inspiring landscapes. However, once we dig deeper, the common threads which unite these two superb photographers are more apparent - they are both products of the Plymouth College of Art and Design in Devon, England; one of Europe's finest photography schools, and they are both masters of the toxic world of the photographer's darkroom.
Their current joint exhibition at the eklektikos gallery in Georgetown opens Friday, July 19th and runs for a month.
The curator has selected 50 photographs for the exhibition. "I first met Karen and Malcolm while I was a photography student in Plymouth," states Fraser, "and have been a fan of their photography since then."
Although both photographers work in black and white, their subjects are vastly different in scope. Malcolm Sharp is the stereotypical Celtic loner living and working by himself in the vastness of the Scottish Highlands. Sharp's photography concentrates and re-defines the world around him. Through him we discover the secret places in the Highlands, and revel in the stark beauty of some of the holy places used by the Picts and other pre-Scottish peoples and marvel at the selective beauty of isolated farm still lives. My favorite pieces were the "Cammachmore" series. This series depicts an ancient stone circle near Aberdeen in northeastern Scotland. Used as meeting and worshipping places by the pre-Scottish people of Scotland known as Picts, the stone circles dot the Scottish countryside as far north as the Orkneys. Sharp's photographs capture the site in clear close-ups and remind me of Ansel Adams and his American Southwest (as does Sharp's "Stump, Invercauld Estate"). This Adams "feeling" is prevalent throughout most of the works, but make no mistake, these works are not derivative by any means, they stand alone and are evidence of tremendous talent and skill.
Karen Watendewao is a documentary photographer. She has worked closely with "Age Concern," a London based charity group, for which she has done extensive photographic documentation which has been exhibited throughout England. Williams also photographed and documented the work of "Voluntary Service Overseas" in Tanzania, traveling to that African country, where her work was exhibited in Dar Es Salaam in 1993. A year later she traveled extensively in Rumania, documenting Rumanian orphanages for the White Cross Mission, a Cornish charity. This work was exhibited in Cornwall in 1994 and has subsequently being exhibited throughout England as a traveling art exhibition.
The pieces chosen by Fraser for eklektikos concentrate on Watendewao's African work. We are skillfully introduced to children playing, smiling, eating; the village tailor, the elders, the nuns. After viewing her work we come away with the feeling that she has helped us discover a wonderful world where lack of material things is more than compensated for by hard work and broad smiles. It was hard to find a favorite piece in this impressive collection of work, which more than once reminded me of the work of such notable documentary photographers such as Sebastian Salgado, but even better than Salgado, because Watendewao's photography yields hope while Salgado's exploit misery. I particularly liked "Mug of Ugali," (which I bet will become the best-seller in the exhibition), and "Tumila."
This is by far the best photographic exhibition I have seen this year, and a resounding success for both the curator and the gallery. I strongly recommend it. The works by both photographers are offered in signed limited editions of (mostly) 50 handmade prints per image. The pieces, framed to conservation standards, are generally under $200 each. This is without a doubt the best art steal of the summer!!
A reception for both artists will be held at eklektikos on July 19th, 1996 6-8:30 P.M. The gallery is located in the Canal Square complex at 1054 31st Street, NW in Georgetown and can be reached at (202) 342-1809.