BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.7//EN TZID:Europe/London X-WR-TIMEZONE:Europe/London BEGIN:VEVENT UID:7895@artinliverpool.com DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London;VALUE=DATE:20230929 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London;VALUE=DATE:20231224 DTSTAMP:20230926T135808Z URL:https://www.artinliverpool.com/events/open-eye-gallery-a-look-at-a-new -perspective-digital-window-gallery/ SUMMARY:Open Eye Gallery: Open Eye Gallery: A Look At a New Perspective\, D igital Window Gallery DESCRIPTION:One Day At A Time Boys is an art project based in Damien John K elly House (DJK)\, a recovery community for men based in Liverpool\, offer ing a program of support based in the arts\, sport and culture. DJK embrac es recovery values of willingness\, honesty\, and open-mindedness within a creative setting. They explore how the lessons they learn in art can be a pplied to real-life examples in their recovery\, whether it be through the lens\, through writing\, painting or drawing. They celebrate their commun ity\, get curious about their individuality whilst documenting their perso nal growth and shared experience.\n\nIn this body of work\, the lads have responded by selecting images and writing on the role photography has in t heir community\, what it means to individuals and how it helps to tell the ir story.\n\nPhotography can be a tool for building trust\, creating comfo rt and challenging discomfort. It can bring about a sense of agency and pr ide. A Look At A New Perspective is precisely that\, the title coming from Paul\, one of the lads\, in his response to these ideas. This encapsulate s what they do in art and in their recovery: they take a look\, step into unfamiliarity\, get out of their comfort zone\, and every time they do\, t heir comfort zone gets bigger. They learn together\, celebrate together\, love together\, create together and recover together.\n\nArt saves\, it al lows new passions to develop\, it binds the community and helps form a sol id sense of culture. One Day At A Time Boys invite you to take a look\, to o.\n\nLiam: “At DJK\, you’re never too far away from a camera or someo ne putting a camera in your face. Sometimes it can be uncomfortable having a camera pointed at you. I don’t particularly like it because it feels like the attention or focus is all on me\, and that’s something that mak es me feel uncomfortable\, but when it’s one of the other residents taki ng my picture\, it feels a bit different. We’re 17 fellas\, all from dif ferent backgrounds but with similar stories\, all living under one roof\, so there’s a very strong bond and a lot of trust between us so I don’t mind it as much when one of the lads starts taking pictures of me. We cou ld be taking pictures for an art project or at events that the lads are in volved in\, such as poetry nights\, or even just messing around taking pic tures and having a laugh. We’re capturing proper memories with the camer a.”\n\nJonny: “Photography was new to us all\, with a mixed response f rom the group originally. What at first felt awkward soon turned to laughs and a connection between men I’d never experienced before. Our communit y is strongly focused on honesty and vulnerability\, so getting up close a nd personal with a camera came easy. One of the exercises we did early on was taking pictures of each other and then sharing what we saw in the man in the photograph – one man’s opinion on\n\nanother man highlighting t he good qualities they might not see in themselves and appreciate. Reminis cing on old family photos and how technology has changed\, our insecuritie s around being photographed were all talking points. Sometimes all is not what it seems when you think about instagram and social media\, but being together as a group using photography brought out a trust in each other an d honesty\, helping to overcome our insecurities and fears. Through photog raphy\, we have had laughs and heartfelt moments together\, and now is a m assive part of our recovery as we document all our adventures and progress . Sharing this with these lads is a beautiful thing.”\n\nMatt: “Takin g pictures is just the medium we use to have fun together. That’s all it boils down to for me: having fun together. It goes onto a hobby (or more) for some and not for others. Sharing in the activity gives everyone a rea son to be there and be connected. It doesn’t have to be photography or e ven art\; if you’re ever lonely\, ask someone to do a thing with you. Th e ‘thing’ could be the shittest thing ever to do\, but at least you’ re doing it together – connected.”\n\nMicheal: “It’s fascinating seeing everyone in the house have their own style of picture they like to take. For example\, Chopper likes random action shots\, Jamie likes close- ups of people’s faces\, and Wesley likes to take a picture with a certai n filter on his phone. Seeing everyone come into the house\, myself includ ed\, so insecure about the way they look – to what we are like today\, j ust allowing pictures to be taken without even flinching. It is a massive compliment to the bond and trust we have all built up in our community. Th ere really is no place like it.”\n\nJohn: “Photos. Photos of me. Oh n o\, I’m going to have to see myself at some point? I’ll be shown mysel f and expected to comment on the memory of that moment in time. That used to be my thought process around photographs. Wanting to stay hidden away i n the world\, but then having someone wanting to make a permanent record o f me for potentially the entire world to see\, least for me to see\, was a n awful experience. My gut would churn with anxiety over the thought of ha ving my picture taken. Everything I hated about myself would be there for people to see whenever they wanted to. What would they do when they saw wh at I saw in my reflection? Would they laugh at the way I looked? Would the y show the photo to other people so that they could laugh\, too? Would the y perhaps even dismiss me\, not even look at the photo and then move on to a picture of somebody else\, because that person is more interesting or b etter looking or looks more fun and engaging?\n\nI don’t have those worr ies so much these days. The idea of what photography is has changed. I thi nk it has changed because of the community I’m a part of. I know people ’s intentions when they take a photograph of me. They’re not doing it so that they can ridicule me in the future\, they’re doing it because I ’m one of them. The picture isn’t about me\, it’s about my place wit hin the community. I trust people to take a photo of me and trust that the reason they are doing it is because we share a common interest and a bond . The photo isn’t taken to single me out\, it is taken to make me feel m ore a part of.”\n\n \;\n\nLads names \n\nMatt Owen\n\nJonny Walman\ n\nJamie Maxfield\n\nKai Ralph\n\nBen Drinan\n\nJim Whitlam\n\nJohn Harris \n\nLiam Martin\n\nMicheal Fearnehough\n\nGeoffrey West\n\nNeil McNicholas \n\nMark Roberts\n\nMatt Spokes\n\nWesley Burns\n\nPaul Williams\n\nTommy Burns\n\nImage: One Day At A Time Boys\, 2023 ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.artinliverpool.com/wp-content/upload s/2023/09/john-scaled-1.jpg LOCATION:Open Eye Gallery\, Mann Island\, Liverpool Waterfront\, Liverpool\ , L3 1BP\, Liverpool\, United Kingdom GEO:53.40423;-2.994412 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Mann Island\, Liverpool Wat erfront\, Liverpool\, L3 1BP\, Liverpool\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=1 00;X-TITLE=Open Eye Gallery:geo:53.40423,-2.994412 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/London BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20230326T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20231029T010000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR