Special Photography Exhibit On Display on Hilton Head Island

The Coastal Discovery Museum on Hilton Head Island presents an exhibit of photographs by Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe taken of Daufuskie Island during the 1970s and 1980s. "Daufuskie Island, Photographs by Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe" will be on display from November 14, 2008 through February 28, 2009. SC Humanities sponsored the program through a Mini Grant in September 2008.

Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe traveled to Daufuskie Island between 1975-1985 to record images of the life and traditions of the Gullah community there. Her resulting collection of 80 silver-gelatin black and white images document the daily life of these people, showing family gatherings, crabbing and fishing, children at play, and spiritual life. In the intervening twenty years, much has changed on the Island due to development and other factors, making Moutoussamy-Ashe's photographs a unique testament to a vanishing lifestyle.

In 1982 Moutoussamy-Ashe toured a more limited exhibit of Daufuskie images in conjunction with the release of her original book. Upon reissuing the 25th Anniversary edition Daufuskie Island: Photographs by Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe through USC Press, the artist decided to put together this new, expanded exhibition as well. It was previously on display at the Leica Gallery in New York City.

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