Facing history
Anyone whos seen the photos of people making faces on the eastern exterior of John Oliver secondarys auditorium and wondered what theyre about can visit the South Hill Community website to read about the memories behind the mugs. Students, artist mentors, school administrators and funders gathered in the Learning Commons, formerly the library, at the school near East 41st Avenue and Fraser Street on Wednesday to celebrate the completion of the JO Changing Faces Project.
The Changing Faces photographic mural celebrates the history and diversity of the century-old school with images of current students and alumni crossing their eyes and sticking out their tongues. Photographer and artist Michelle Fleming worked with local high school students Raman Bajwa, Tynan Walters, Sooky Moore and Natalie Lingren to photograph more than 40 alumni and current students. The students then chose 20 photographs to enlarge to six-by-four feet for the mural. Under the mentorship of documentary filmmaker Nettie Wild (FIX: The Story of an Addicted City), another group of students Lily Le, Van Law, Callie Walters and Vrinda Munjal interviewed the photo subjects about their high school memories.
Mary Quant makeup was very hip. At school, we were only allowed to wear dresses or skirts no pants, contributed alumnus Nancy Nagel, whos pictured yanking her mouth into a diagonal slash. The cafeteria used to be a lot bigger We had 2,700 kids at the school then. They had a boys side and a girls side The first time I got in trouble was for being on the boys side. Me and my friend had to go to the vice principals office and explain ourselves and apologize, added Nagel, who left JO in 1967.
The Changing Face Project did not just get youth collaborating with experienced artists. It also brought generations together, according to a press release about the project, to exchange stories and experiences.
The South Hill BIA Public Art Committee curated Changing Faces in collaboration with the school and the JO 100 Year Anniversary Committee. Its the third project under the South Hill Public Art Plan. The city funded the initiative through a community and neighbourhood arts development grant.
Twitter: @Cheryl_Rossi
