By A. Brooke Whitley 04.04.2014

Senior photography major Matt Waeckerle’s exhibition opened this Sunday in the Derthick Art Gallery and closes today. The show features images of Grand Guave, Haiti and its people.

 

“The title is ‘Sak pase?’” said Waeckerle, “which in Haitian Creole translates as ‘what’s up.’ My show is what I saw everyday and ‘what’s up’ is just an everyday term.”

 

The 21 photographs that colored the walls and angles of the gallery’s corridors were a “good mix of portraits and abstracts,” said senior photography major Meaghan Roland. They were taken on two separate trips with Lifeline Christian Missions and are all post-earthquake.

 

‘Bondyerenmen ou’, the first photograph featured in the exhibit, was of a smiling girl holding a bright red heart against her dark Haitian skin that read, “God loves you.”

 

Those who attended were affected in different ways.

 

“This show brings back a lot of memories for me in Haiti,” said sophomore Shayla Wood. “I love that I know and recognize certain things in the background of the photographs.”

 

President Bill Greer and First Lady Edwina Greer were in attendance along with retired Dr. Lee and Dr. Pat Magness. Photography and other fine arts majors including Roland, Krista Knudtsen, and Monica Fife as well as travel photographer and writer, Joel Carillet also made appearances.

 

“The art community, whether faculty or students, have done an awesome job of banding together and being supportive,” said Waeckerle. “It’s good to see people who have graduated come back and express that they are still invested.”

 

Waeckerle’s family drove from Indiana to support him. Members of his church family from Redeemer Community Church also came.

 

“Matt very much has a heart for missions and I think this show reflects that,” said Alice Anthony, professor of photography.

 

Waeckerle learned that “photography is a language everyone can speak.”

This mindset led to many ministry opportunities in Haiti.

 

“I hope that people could see the people of Haiti and its beauty,” said Waeckerle. “A lot of times when you think of countries like Haiti you think of devastation. There is hurt but there’s also a lot of joy. I wanted to communicate not just the hurt, but the joy and the beauty of the country.”

 

“Sak pase?” is one of many senior exhibits that have opened this semester.

 

“It shows the Milligan campus just what talent we have here,” said Anthony. The work includes visualization, advertisement, patience and preparation. “Sak pase?” took 15 hours to hang.

 

Fine arts majors look forward to the day of their exhibition, which “is the culmination of what they have been working toward the past four years,” said Anthony.

 

“People of Accomplishment,” a senior photography exhibit by Meaghan Roland will open April 13 at 2 p.m.