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BAGUIO Then & Now Exhibition at the Library, UPB

   BAGUIO Then/Now (2017), an exhibition of aerials, panoramic views and re-photography, is now open at the Library of the University of the Philippines Baguio. Featured in the exhibition are early Baguio photographs culled from various archival sources and private collections and re-photographs by Baguio photographers. Together, these images present a continuing documentation of the city’s cultural and physical landscape.

   This exhibition, curated by Erlyn Ruth Alcantara, was first held in December 2007 at the Gallery, SM City Baguio and in March 2009, was shown at the University of the Philippines Baguio. In celebration of Baguio’s centenary, the exhibition opened with additional photographs in September 2009 at the Maryknoll Eco-Sanctuary. Baguio Then & Now 2017 includes photography from elevated views using drone cameras.

   A term used in early environmental studies, re-photography is a ‘then and now’ visual record. Photographs taken during an earlier period are used as reference to shoot present-day images from an approximate or similar angle. While the challenge of re-photography is to take the same or approximate angle, it is not confined to a literal ‘then and now.’ A re-photograph can have, as its point of reference, the context of the subject.

This re-photography exhibition aims to bring forth insight and focused reflection, meaningful enough to take viewers beyond nostalgia and towards a new understanding of the responsibility we all must bear to care for Baguio’s environment.

   Viewed individually or collectively, these photographs document change and loss. These reflect how we engage our environment or push our resources to the limits. On the other hand, these also reveal some changeless qualities of a peoples’ spirit and of classic Baguio landscapes or vantages which many still remember as home. (E.R. Alcantara)

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