At the FIU Photography Gallery at FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus, Melisa Caprio is showing her work in Dolphin Human Therapy, starting Monday, October 27th.
To describe the theme behind this exhibition, Caprio presents the following statement:
I sit on the dock and patiently wait; wait for the right moment to click the shutter. I watch therapists and dolphins work with children whose disabilities range from mild to severe. These children come to receive therapy, love and healing. As I watch, I am in awe of the humility, empathy and wonder they possess. As I photograph, I see the children’s confidence grow. They are not judged and they learn what it means to trust themselves and others. I watch as they become more powerful in their own skin. These children represent everything that is intricately complicated and beautiful about humankind. Through photography, they allow me into this world, to behold the beauty of the subject matter as it evolves.
This project started in 2000 and ended for me in 2006. Every day I was blessed with the privilege of being a part of something that cannot be explained in words. The photographs tell a much better story. There is a sacred relationship between the highly intelligent animals and these children who have trouble communicating. When the children are exposed to the dolphins, their little bodies riddled with whatever syndrome or disease, become open and responsive; something magical happens. The animals that I have gotten to know very intimately can read these children and always know exactly what they need to motivate them.
There are thousands of photographs in my collection, which are all unique in their own way. I found something beautiful in the symbiotic relationship between the two. When I watch the dolphins work with those children, I am witnessing something extraordinary happen…and that is something to see.
The FIU Photography Gallery – and this exhibition – is directed by Eduardo del Valle and Mirta Gómez, Professors of Photography.
An Artist’s Discussion with Melisa Caprio will take place on Monday, November 3rd, 2014 at 5PM at FIU Biscayne Bay Campus: 3000 N.E. 145 Street, Academic II – Room 105, North Miami, Florida 33181.
Dolphin Human Therapy will run from October 27th to November 24th, 2014 at the FIU Photography Gallery. Gallery Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 11AM – 3PM; Tuesday and Thursday, 4PM – 6PM.
Caprio is currently a fine art photographer, as well as the owner of Postcards to the Universe, a “global movement for manifestation” – and, soon, a book project – that calls individuals to write their wishes and desires on a postcard and send them out into the universe. Some of Caprio’s works are in the collection of the Ringling Museum of Art, she has exhibited at 1310 Gallery and Art Fallout, and she has published two works of literature online related to photography. Caprio also gives workshops on the art of photography and manifestation.
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