The Photo Exhibition “Extraordinary Child” by Mary Ellen Mark opens in the National Museum of Iceland today. The exhibition consists of 70 photographs and a documentary by Oscar-nominated director Martin Bell.
The photographs on display were taken in the schools Öskjuhlídarskóli and Safamýraskóli for disabled children and Lyngás, a center for the disabled, in fall 2006 and winter 2007.
The documentary, titled Alexander: Extraordinary Child, focuses on Alexander Vidar Pálsson, a severely disabled Icelandic boy, and his relationship with his parents, grandparents, friends, teachers, fellow students and his dog Rocky.
Mark plans to publish a book in relation to the exhibition. “Extraordinary Child is the kind of project that brought me to photography. I hope that after seeing the film and book, the audience will have a more intimate way of seeing children with disabilities because they are truly extraordinary,” the photographer said, according to a National Museum press release.
Mark is known for taking photographs that reflect social reality, including photographs of the homeless youths in Seattle, which were followed up by the 1984 documentary Streetwise, directed by Bell.
On display until January 27, 2008.
