PHOTOGRAPHY
Life on the Lake exhibit part of Eyes Wide Open Worldwide project
Sunday, March 30, 2008
SPRINGFIELD — Living on a lake is unlike anything most Americans will ever experience but it's daily life for some Cambodians.
"It was like nothing I've ever seen ... It's hard to actually put into words," said Ty Fischer, executive director of Eyes Wide Open Worldwide.
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Fischer and his children's photography program went to Cambodia for the second time last fall for a photo festival and to work with nine children there.
He went to the Tonle Sap region, where more than 170 villages float on a large lake.
The children aged 6 to 17 photographed their daily lives on the water and their work will be exhibited at Wittenberg University.
The multimedia Life on the Lake exhibit will be from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. April 11 and 12 at the Shouvlin Center.
Most of the children had never seen a camera.
"Their images, they're simple but there's so much detail inside of them," Fischer said.
Prints also are available for tax-deductible donations online at eyeswideopenworldwide.org.
The money raised likely will go to two Cambodian charities, Green Gecko and Gecko Environmental.
Last year's exhibit raised about $1,300, which Fischer said is about four years income in Cambodia.
He hopes the project gave the children an opportunity to learn what they are capable of and the chance to have fun.
The exhibit is the first time Eyes Wide Open has worked with Wittenberg University.
Fischer wanted to try a new venue, and offer an activity to bring the students and community together.
Eyes Wide Open has a full plate this year. A Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit will be at the Contact Photography Festival in Toronto in May and at the Westcott House here in June,
Projects with Casa Amiga and the Yellow Springs Kids Playhouse also are in the works.
"I want them to see that children have the capability to express and create," he said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0363 or ssommer@coxohio.com.
