Students and their love for photography
To mark World Down Syndrome Day, The Malta Independent spoke to photography teacher Giola Cassar and photography student Maria Gauci, who has Down syndrome, about their keen interest in photography, which led to an open exhibition of the student’s work last February.
Maria, a very friendly and keen learner, has Down syndrome, a genetic condition which affects physical and intellectual development. The cognitive and behavioural conditions associated with the genetic condition include: short attention span; poor judgment; impulsive behaviour; slow learning and delayed language and speech development.
Yet for Maria, Down syndrome has not stopped her from being the active and sociable character that she is. The 23year-old currently works as a kitchen helper, and among her passion for photography, Maria also does swimming and scouting. In her second year of photography, Maria explains how she has learnt to use a camera, allowing her to see shapes, light and dark, designs, angles, lines and colours. She added that while she wishes to continue practicing such techniques, she also wants to continue taking photos that show daily routines too. Other students expressed how photography had provided them with great memories.
Speaking about her photography class, Maria explains how her closest friends in the class, who also have Down syndrome, have increased their passion in photography, so much so that they take photos every day. Maria concluded by thanking her friends, her teacher Giola, and especially her mother.
The photography class organised by the Foundation for Information Technology Accessibility was set up for students with mixed abilities. It is held every fortnight for two hours for small groups and individual attention. Photography teacher Giola explains that the class is a mixedability one “but this year’s students all have down syndrome and their work has proved to me so impressive that a small exhibition of their work was held in Rabat a month ago.”
Students are all very active, with most working and having other hobbies including swimming, scouting, aerobics and zumba.
“The focus of the lessons is on compositional and visual techniques, rather than just how to use a camera. Texture, patterns and colours are explored and we try to focus on different angles and light. Visual language, where to look when taking a picture and to document what you like is what we really try to achieve,” Giola said.
The exhibition, which showcased ten pieces from each student, focused on nature, including flowers, trees.
“The class is just like any other class,” Giola said. “They’re very opinionated young people and love to their own thing. But they really work very hard and are committed – plus they enjoy it. When they understand something they really like to explore, for example, as soon as they started to understand patterns, they began to see it everywhere.”
“The challenges are more to do with basics. You see everything needs to be broken down for them to understand, but that’s it really. For me the reward is seeing them be so proud of their work. It’s great to see them produce good work and see their development,” Giola stated.