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B2 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday May 29, 2002 who? when? where? how mu<h? For all the answers, visit www.oakvillefestival.com proudly designed & managed by ACS Web Group presents T m n o tto H A Brian Bell, direc to r of V irtual L ibrary Services, and Systems, and Lisa Cox, technician, check out the new Home Truths Web site created by the Oakville Public L ibrary and Oakville Galleries. Home Truths, a unique exhibition, is set to open Friday, Ju n e 21 at Centennial Gallery. Photographer Sue Dobson is enjoying c ap tu r ing the private living spaces of local residents. Peter C.McCusker · Oakville Beaver Photographer captures unique images Home Truths offers insight into private lives o f local residents By Howard Mozel OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF OPEN SUNDAYS 12-5 1 4 0 R e b e c c a S t. O A K V I L L E 8 4 4 -7 7 2 8 In fo lin e : 4 1 6 -7 8 0 -0 3 3 3 W e b site : w w w .fa b r ic la n d .c a Rather than be threatened by working collaboratively with her subjects, photog rapher Sue Dobson is having a blast shar ing the creative spotlight. For the past month or so, Dobson has been preparing her upcoming Home Truths exhibition at Centennial Gallery by photographing the private living spaces of local residents -- both with and without their human occupants --and allowing them to take an active role in the finished images. "I didn't know what to expect, but it has been amazing," said Dobson. "This has been really interesting. We found such range." In order for these individuals to essen tially expose themselves, Dobson said she needed to gain a high level of trust to cap ture an "honest reflection of people show ing things as they really are." Dobson said these photographs will be "staged to some degree" but this, she maintains, is all part of her subjects' learning curve about the "power to manipulate." This relationship started to take shape in April when candidates selected for the project were interviewed by Dobson. Inhome photo sessions began this month, wherein two images per subject will be created: one, showing the household members in a pose that typifies their life within that room, and a second showing the room "vacated but with evidence of the recently staged tableaux." Dobson says she's also enjoy ing hearing the tales associated with the rooms in question. "The stories behind the objects in the spaces are as interesting as the spaces them selves," she said. On June 21, Home Truths opens at Centennial Gallery, at which Dobson's human sub jects will be unveiled within their chosen settings. That same night the "peopled" pho tographs will appear on a spe cially created Web site. Usually forthcoming about her work, Dobson remains wary of revealing too much about the final images so as not to spoil the suiprise. "Let's just say it's going to be a real eye-opener," she said. Oakville Galleries' head of public programs Teresa Casas believes that Dobson is very generous to relinquish the reins of her artistic vision to her subjects in order to create the images that will be fea tured in the exhibition. "Sue is asking people to be collaborators in the construc tion of meaning." she said. Casas also maintains that Dobson's opening up of the process fans outward to include those who visit a new Web site, where they can offer their input, as well as those who see the images at Centennial Gallery. Simply put, participation breeds understanding or, as Casas puts it, the "visual literacy" necessary to read the images and uncover their many onion like layers of meaning. Dobson also said recently that too many people resist entering an art gallery for fear of feeling ignorant or intimi dated but don't think twice about attending a sporting event or any number of other venues. Hopefully, she adds, her exhibit will help de-mystify the experience. One tool designed to fur ther this aim will be the Home Truths Web site, prepared for Dobson's show by Oakville Public Library systems techni cian Lisa Cox, which will be up and running June 2. Here visitors will find four "vacat ed" images a week for four weeks and will be invited to offer opinions about who lives there and their impressions of the rooms based on clues con tained in the photos. Dobson will edit what will hopefully be a wide range of responses then post them on the site so that other visitors can respond to them in turn. Generic information about browsers can also be added. "There will be a multitude of layers to keep people's interest," said Director of Virtual Library Services Brian Bell, who explained that this new venture will hopefully act as another gateway into the library's many services. Those interested should visit oakvillegalleries.com or opl.on.ca/hometruths. In addition to the Web site, said Casas, the images in Dobson's project will also maintain a "physical presence" in the Tower Room of Centennial Gallery so that everyone -- not just those with access to a computer -- can involve themselves. A June supplement in the Oakville Beaver will likewise offer peo ple the chance to see the images and respond to them by describing the people they think use each particular space and the activities represented there. These explanations, says Dobson, will also reveal some thing about those interpreting the pictures. "The main thing is to get people to respond." she said. Living HEALTHY a series o f free public education events presented by: Halton Healthcare OSTEOPOROSIS N ew A dvances in the D iagnosis an d T reatm ent ALL CRABGRASS CONTROL FERTILIZER W ednesday, M ay 2 9 7 :0 0 -9 :0 0 p.m . 707 Galaxy Banquet Hall Oakville 7 kg. size only with: CONNON NURSERIES C.B. VANDERKRUK HOLDINGS LTD. ! i H W Y .5 D r. A liy a K h a n , M etabolic Bone Disease Specialist ~ n n u r s e r ie s I /< B C O N N O N 403 _ V Q.E.W. To reserve a seat, call o # PLAINS RO.E. FAJRVIEW ST. 9 0 5 -3 3 8 -4 3 7 9 M ade possible through an educational grant from : E li Lilly Canada Inc. M E R C K F R O SST C AN AD A W ith appreciation to O T M H PharmaCare Centre and Starbucks Coffee - Oakville W ATERDOW N Highway 5, Just east ofWaterdown Tel (905) 689-4631 Fax (905) 689-3554 Mon-Fri 8-9, Saturdays 8-5 Closed Sunday www. connon.ca