Marvels of Media Exhibition: New Ways of Seeing

Five award-winning shorts from this year’s Marvels of Media are featured in this exhibition, each unveiling a new way of seeing. In Devon Leaver’s Galoot (pictured above), we witness the poetic logic of a four-year-old girl living in a universe full of sensations where even cars can be happy. In Cameron Carr’s Soap Opera, we discover animated visions within grains of sand. In Kieran Firth-Bernard’s Mr. Copycat, a character learns how to participate in a society by mimicking others before finding his own body language. In Daniel Oliver Lee’s You Don’t Recognize the Faces on TV, a child actor misses out on actual lived experiences in order to perform imaginary ones on television. In Sophia Kyriacou’s FACE, a brief glimpse behind a mask offers a rich inner world. And in Hamish Steele’s Dead End: Paranormal Park, the intoxication of reflection lures us down a dark path. Accompanying posters for the films are on display in an adjacent gallery.

Curator’s Statement

When we offer our vision as autistic filmmakers for relating to the world and try to make sense of what’s outside of us, there’s a risk of rejection and also of connection. Both can be frightening. Our worldview could be mocked, labeled uncaring or overly sensitive. If we connect, there’s a risk of shattering the projected image someone holds, and not meeting expectations. We don’t yet have a way to experience each other’s feelings and peer directly into another’s psyche. But we do have storytelling and art, little openings that allow us to take a peek. By sharing our visions, we grant others insights into new ways of seeing. —Carrie Hawks