A SADDLEWORTH A Level photography student has won a national competition as part of remembrances to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.
Hannah Sheehy’s picture, entitled Window Butterflies, was rated ‘outstanding’ by a judging panel including acclaimed British photographer Rankin and Holocaust survivor and sculptor Maurice Blik.
The striking shot, taken in 16-year-old Hannah’s bedroom at her Delph home, now forms part of a ‘Light up the Darkness’ digital exhibition launched on HMD, January 27.
Her entry in the 14-18 age category, which also gained her £200 in high street shopping vouchers, can be viewed online.
Hannah, a former Delph Primary and Saddleworth School pupil, said of the single image taken on her smart phone: “The window of light in my photograph represents the hope of the many who have to hide in the darkness about their beliefs just like within the holocaust.
“It’s the hope of being accepted and a better life in the light. The few butterflies on the window are conveying the beauty of life when accepted and how beautiful life could be.”
Speaking to the Independent, Hannah, a student at Ashton Sixth Form College, added: “It was a very nice surprise when the Holocaust Memorial Trust contacted me to tell me I had won.
“The photo was part of a homework project and I was told it would be a good and worthwhile competition to enter.”
Hannah also studied photography at GCSE level but her interest in the subject goes back further.
“Mum says I was always good at it, even when I was little. She is horrendous at taking photographs,” laughed Hannah. “So, I was always taking them for her.”
Hannah, also a keen netball player, plans to study at university but not necessarily from behind a lens.
“I enjoy all the subjects I take at A Level so it is a tricky one,” she admitted.
Tulip Sadiq, MP and Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT) Trustee, and Trust chief executive Olivia Marks-Woldman OBE were also part of the judging panel.
The competition reflected HMD’s 2021 theme which encouraged everyone to reflect on the dark depths humanity can sink to but also the ways individuals and communities resisted that darkness to ‘be the light’ before, during and after genocide.
Rankin said: “Now more than ever, it is so important for young people to take the time to engage in history and learn more about genocide and division.
“I loved the message of the competition of celebrating what brings us light throughout our dark times and all of the entries didn’t disappoint.
“It was so fantastic to see how they harnessed the power that photography can have to conceptualise their feelings and thoughts around the theme.”
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