(Photo: Talon Photography)
January 21, 2014
Murgon photographer Sherrianne Talon has been helping to pass on her skills to a bunch of a budding young photographers in a unique program at the South Burnett PCYC which should open a few people’s eyes about Cherbourg.
The project, “Cherbourg Through Pure Eyes” was the brainchild of PCYC manager Sgt Michael Eadie who tracked down the sponsorship to make it a reality.
The idea was for a group of Year 4-6 students from Cherbourg State School to capture their home town in photographs.
As a preliminary, Sherrianne took photos around Cherbourg “as a tourist”. Then, after teaching the children the basics of digital photography, she sent them out in November and December to take photos of the same places, but through their eyes, their perspective.
Sherrianne dubbed her young students the “Cherbourg paparazzi”.
“We asked them to take pictures of their community as they see it, to show us what’s important or interesting to them,” Sherianne said.
“And the view suddenly became different. They didn’t see the graffiti, they saw artwork. They didn’t see the architecture of a building, they saw the interesting things around it, the small details, the art that had been added, either by design or by a bored hand.
“They saw places they knew and spent time at. They saw their friends. For every sign we saw that had someone’s name attached to a place, I had a child in the group who was related to them.
“Suddenly, the places became part of a community.
“I saw past what a tourist would normally see and saw Cherbourg for what it really is, a community full of families.
“And while it may never win a Tidy Town award, I challenge anyone to find a town with as much history, both sad and triumphant, anywhere in Australia.”
Sgt Eadie said the project demonstrated the beauty within Cherbourg to the youth instead of everything being about the negative.
“Youth today hear enough negatives,” he said.
“This project has been designed to show people the good in a small, closeknit community through the eyes of youth.
“What some adults see as ugly or damage, these youth see beauty and stories. There is so much good out there; you just have to look under the surface.”
The children’s photographs will be put on show at Cherbourg’s Ration Shed and a book will also be produced.
“This project has led to another project where the kids this year will commence a multimedia heritage trail about Cherbourg and its history, as well as its future through their eyes,” Sgt Eadie said.
Sherianne said some of her professional photos would also appear in the book.
“You’ll know them by their utter lack of soul,” she said.
“You’ll know the kids’ photos by the life they have in them. They managed to capture something I, as a professional for 20 years, could not.
“And you’ll see them as well, comparing pictures, taking pictures, being themselves and having fun on a project that all involved hope will make a difference.
“The best outcome we could hope for is that these kids remember the pride they had in their community when they took these photos, that they pass that on to their friends and family.”
Sherianne said she hoped the project would also encourage people from outside the community to “look a bit deeper” at Cherbourg and realise there is a lot more to the town than they previously believed.
Deputy Prime Minister – and Member for Wide Bay – Warren Truss commended the Coca-Cola Australia Foundation for contributing $9990 towards making the “Cherbourg Through Pure Eyes” project a reality.
“I welcome this contribution by Coca-Cola Australia towards a worthy cause,” Mr Truss said.
“The South Burnett PCYC performs terrific work in the community and I strongly endorse their work in addressing the social and economic issues that young people face in our communities. This money will go some way towards helping them continue their good work in the community.”
- External link: Through Pure Eyes – Cherbourg Project
