Widow donates more than 200 cameras owned by her late husband to Cork club

WE live in a fast-paced technological age, but there are people who are still interested in a slower approach to life and the arts, as evidenced by the recent launch of the Slow Camera Exchange (SCE) at Cork City Library.

Socially engaged artist, Jessica Carson Marbe, widow of Hermann Marbe, launched the SCE, which she founded in Hermann’s memory. In keeping with his values, the SCE is all about accessibility and inclusion. Images of Hermann’s work were on show at the library.

Hermann, who died five years ago, was originally from Germany and lived in Cork from 2002. He worked at Mayfield Community Arts Centre with a group of service users of the COPE Foundation, supporting them to develop their practices as artists. The group, which is still going, is called the Gasp Artists and has had exhibitions including at the Quay Co-Op.

Jessica, originally from Co Down, also worked at Mayfield Community Arts Centre. Now, she works as a freelance artist and is currently co-ordinating an eco-art programme at the Crawford College of Art and Design.

Jessica, a mother-of-two, studied and enjoyed photography at the National College of Art and Design.

“I introduced Hermann to the dark room process which I had learned at college. 

He caught the bug for photography more than I did and it became his passion.

She reckons that her husband had about 200 cameras, which have been donated to the library. They are analogue cameras as opposed to today’s digital ones. The analogue camera library, the first of its kind in Ireland, will give people access to cameras along with a selection of camera workshop kits from the Hermann Marbe Camera Collection.

Hermann collected cameras, bought in India and Mexico, as well as from flea markets all across Europe.

“He also enjoyed building cameras, maybe finding a lens that belonged to a piece of old print equipment. He liked putting cameras together, using boxes and lenses.

“Through using different lenses, you can try to find subtle ways to make images slightly different. I would describe slow photography as the difference between analogue and digital photography. 

Photography can be a super fast process and without adding to your costs, with digital images you can take more and more photos and produce more and more of them.

“With analogue photography, people tend to think more carefully about how to set up a shot. It’s time-consuming and also what takes up time is processing and printing the shot. So there’s often a lot more care and attention.”

While people can process film themselves, Jessica says there are lots of companies to which you can post off your film to have it processed and printed.

“Hermann had converted a little downstairs bathroom in our house into a darkroom. All you need is a room that can be made dark and contains the equipment and has running water.

“Some create a darkroom in a shed in their garden or use a bathroom temporarily.”

Everywhere he went, Hermann carried several cameras with him.

“He’d have anything from something he could put in his pocket to a large-sized package that needed to be assembled on site.”

We all think we’re instant photographers these days, with cameras in our smart phones. What did Hermann think of contemporary photography?

“He used a smart phone. He also had a digital camera and saw the purpose of it. He used digital photography to document art processes rather than take artistic images. He could see the enjoyment of that and the value of digital photography as well.

“A lot of people work very creatively and make amazing work using digital photography. 

Hermann wasn’t analogue all the way. He used both types of photography for different types of work.

He even used cheap plastic cameras for their unpredictable effects.

Over the past year, the SCE has been holding workshops that celebrate creativity in older people. All ages are catered to and workshops will continue. Jessica says there is a lot of interest from people in their twenties and thirties. It’s a bit like the hipster interest in vinyl records.

“I have been really struck by the number of young people interested in the analogue process. I think they appreciate the slow nature of it.”

Photographer, camera technician and facilitator at the SCE, Artem Trofimenko is passionate about analogue photography.

“He has tested every camera that’s available from the library. He spends a lot of time with each of the cameras and has used some of them for his own work as well. A Crawford graduate, he’s an example of a young person with a real passion and a willingness to take time with the equipment.”

The camera library is available to members of the SCE Club. They are people who have gone through an induction session with one of the SCE teams. This helps to ensure the correct handling and use of the camera collection. Anyone with an interest and some experience in photography is welcome to register for the induction sessions and become a SCE Club member.

Once you have received an induction, access to the camera collection will be available to you at the City Library on Grand Parade. If you don’t have much experience with analogue photography but are curious, look out for SCE workshops held from time to time by the Cork City Library Service.

The Slow Camera Exchange is a collaboration between Cork City Libraries, Cork Film Centre, Jessica Carson Marbe with funding from Creative Ireland.

See www.theslowcameraexchange.com