Spirit of Place by Therese Debono

‘Spirit of Place’.  This is the name of the photography talk by Therese Debono held at the Avantech premises last week.  Our eager guests flocked to the Avantech showroom at 7:30pm and made themselves at home.

Why spirit of place

A place is a physical space, a location.  A place is an inhabited space, and especially one which gives you a sense of belonging.
Besides being the title of this photography talk, “Spirit of Place” is also the title of a project. Therese completed this project in the past year.  Therese’s project is an investigation into understanding this term from a Cultural Heritage point of view. She also tackles how the photographic medium can represent this intangible factor.

Therese’s ‘place’

Therese opened her talk by explaining that her ‘place’ is the village of Zebbug.  Zebbug is a place she has come back to, even though she had ‘fled’ from it at the tender age of 24.

The photography

We were entranced with Therese’s photos, all of which carried a story.  Therese’s love for her village and the people that make it what it is was clearly depicted as well as narrated.

My take aways

I, for one, admire Therese’s ability to casually stroll into a garage in her village and start a conversation with the local guys busy at work.  She makes photographing characters look so easy!

Therese’s talk was engaging and thought provoking.  One was really made to think – do you stop to observe your ‘place’, space and surroundings?

On Therese Debono

Therese is a talented local professional photographer who studied Digital Arts and Culture Heritage at the University of Malta. Her past training in architecture led her to investigate spaces, places as well as shoot interiors from a cultural point of view. Therese also shoots portraiture and weddings on a commercial basis.  She also lectures photography at the University of Malta and MCAST Institute for the Creative Arts.

The Avantech initiative

We at Avantech are collaborating with a number of local Canon photographers to further promote their talent and skills.
Every quarter, we are teaming up with a different photographer.  He or she features in our ‘Canon Pro Showcase’, which is in essence an exhibition of the photographer’s work at the Avantech showroom.  The photographs on display convey the magnificent potential of Canon photographic equipment and Canon PRO series printers and photo media.

We invite you to come and visit us to enjoy Therese’s exhibition.  It is currently on display at the Avantech showroom until the end of June 2018.

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