PhotoMalaysia Guerilla Exhibition

Over the past month, PhotoMalaysia photographers were given the opportunity to post photos of their choice on the walls of the Avenue K shopping mall.  Hallway Events (cjhphotography) participated in the last week of this exhibit, joining a group of diverse and very talented photographers.  I chose to exhibit some recent photos taken at the Sikh Temple in Wisconsin USA, where, on Aug 5th 2012, a lone gunman killed several people.  This senseless act of violence thrust a small community of Sikhs into the international spotlight.  They handled the situation with poise and grace.  Despite their grief and anguish, they have found a way to love each other and to appreciate the outpouring of compassion that came from their neighbourhood, from across the United States and from around the world.  I was there two weeks after the shootings and found a place where love has conquered hate, where understanding has overpowered prejudice. Difficult but strong.  I photographed for a few hours in the quiet temple.  At one point, a man who had survived the shootings, sat with his friends and recounted the horrors of August 5th.  In other spaces, people walked about, signed the boards, and shared tears for those who lives were taken so senselessly.   I shared photos of my visit to the Sikh temple with hope that this act of terror would not succeed in driving us apart but, in fact, bring us closer to each other.  As the plaque beside the one remaining bullet hole declares – “We Are One”.

If you would like to view the photos that were posted at this exhibit, please go to Photo Essays under the Galleries tab and look for Sikh Temple of Wisconsin.

Or click on this rather long link: http://cjhphotography.photoshelter.com/gallery/Sikh-Temple-of-Wisconsin/G0000VmGH0lcfOkk/C0000KTedne2EpdU