ÔAn exhibition about seeing and not just looking . . . A glimpse into the way of seeing of 8-13 years old at the beginning of the 21st century.Õ
Prof. Sir Christopher Frayling Ð Chairman, Arts Council of England

eye see is a photography project granted by Millennium Awards, the Peabody Trust and National Campaign for the Arts. Conceived and produced by David Palaz—n and JosŽ Alvarez in collaboration with Kaho Kojima, the project involved the participation of 200 school children aged between 8 to 13 years from North London. We gave a disposable camera to every child and asked them to take pictures of those objects, places and situations of great importance to them. Taking place from July to December 2003, the project ended with 3000 pictures, an experimental book, an installation and a documentary, all displayed in 3 major exhibitions:

¥ FAITH Centre, WoodGreen 5-6 December 2003
¥ Royal College of Art, 19-24 April 2004
¥ Kingly Court Gallery Ð Carnaby Street, 11-25 May 2004

During the exhibition and through the eyes of the children we were able to see aspects of our culture and surroundings that otherwise go unnoticed. The absence of adult expectations in the photographs, the manner in which these objects and situations are framed and the verbal descriptions of these images, all contributed to a collective portrait of the emotions that these children projected onto the physical environment around them.

During the exhibition, we exchanged thoughts with the visitors, and we realised that the meaning of each one of the photographs exhibited, was spontaneously created in our mind. Each photo we looked at, or interacted with, was telling us something about ourselves.

This work was a dynamic evolving process enabled and established by people's direct participation. eye see was a celebration of diversity, a portrait of childhood, a source of inspiration and also a unique photographic record, but above all eye see was a platform for all of us to realise that we donÕt see things as they are because we tend to see things as we are.

eye see was reviewed by LondonArt.co.uk