The 7-day photography masterclass took place in May 2019 near Unawatuna in southern Sri Lanka and was again supervised by the mentors Liz Fernando and Andy Spyra.
The location for the masterclass was consciously chosen so that the participants in the group can concentrate fully on their projects in a quiet and beautiful but at the same time conclave atmosphere. The aim of the masterclass was to enable the photographers to delve even deeper into their individual projects and work together with the group towards a possible exhibition of their work in 2020.
After the first photography workshop, which was scheduled as a 10-day road trip, the photographers were encouraged to continue working on their projects. In order to enable the field trips to the various stations of the respective projects, which exemplify the influence of human on the environment, the photographers were provided with a seed grant. The photographic material that emerged during these field trips was the main subject of the masterclass. Specifically, it was about editing and redacting the images created in recent months so that they not only document on the environmental weak spots, but are also able to tell the stories of the respective sites.
The two mentors asked the participants to prepare a brief presentation of their projects for the masterclass in order to create a common basis for discussion. Since the group was smaller compared to last year, there was plenty of time to discuss the individual projects. One project on each day was analyzed and discussed in detail. The topic of storytelling was the key issue. It was particularly pleasing to see how much the group has developed compared to last year in terms of its ability to express constructive criticism, to discuss and reflect together.
The photographic material developed during the Masterclass has been further extented and refined and was presented to the public in with the photography exhibition "Humanity & Earth".
Participants: Tilaxan Tharmapalan, Shehan Obeysekera, Munira Mutaher, Sandranathan Rubatheesan, Tashiya de Mel, Ramanathan Parilojithan
