Teen delighted her photos accepted
At the age of 18, Diana Simumpande is one of the youngest exhibitors in the Auckland Festival of Photography.
The exhibition was produced last year as part of her year 13 visual art photography folio.
Discovering that it was to be used in the festival came as ‘‘quite a surprise’’ to the former Glendowie College student.
‘‘I was about it.
‘‘It’s really surprising, you think that what you’re doing is OK but when you get someone actually using
really
excited it, it’s a great feeling,’’ she says.
Simumpande’s exhibition The Hollow Man opened at St Heliers Library on June 2 and runs until June 15. The series was inspired by a visual poem by American artist Shel Silverstein and draws influence from photomontage photographers like Jerry Uelsmann and Tommy Ingberg and surrealist artists like Salvador Dali.
Simumpande has a strong connection with photography and plans to pursue a career in visual art.
‘‘I went in to university taking a more practical road but now it’s made me realise that I want to focus on photography.
‘‘I’ve always been inspired by art.
‘‘You can capture how life makes you feel.’’
Her NCEA folio is touring New Zealand with other upand-coming artists as part of the NCEA Top Art exhibition.
The Auckland Festival of Photography runs until June 20.