¡Domincanos!, New Photography Exhibit, Reveals the Faces of the Dominican Republic

More than the initials that follow Ian Tink's name (MBA, MEd, MPA, SPHR), his 2002 marriage to Dominican Republic-born Elvira (pronounced Elvida) Paulino has shaped his photography during that decade. A portion of his work will be featured in the new photography show, ¡Domincanos!, at the Westboro Gallery through Oct. 21.

Tink told Westborough Patch, "Eleven years ago I went to Santo Domingo and Punta Cana (for the first time) with my (now) wife. She tested me by taking me on a local bus with animals and car parts." Tink says that he has now been to the Dominican Republic about 30 times, and knows the country well.

In spite of not speaking Spanish, Tink often travels to the Dominican Republic ahead of his wife. He takes pictures for himself and for the Dominican Republic's ministry of tourism, participates with arts organizations and universities in Santo Domingo, and has been on local television and radio shows.

The show, ¡Domincanos!, celebrates the people from the Dominican Republic in everyday life, both there and in the U.S. On display will be about 25 large-scale (12-inch-by-18-inch) photographs that sell for $200 to $300, and hundreds of small (4-inch-by-6-inch) shots, priced at $2 each, assembled along a 20-inch band that runs through the space of the show. Other sizes of photographs will be available for purchase.

An opening reception, held Sunday, featured an assortment of finger foods and music from the Dominican Republic.

Long Story

Tink's long story abbreviated is that he was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and lived in London, Hamilton, Canada and Skowhegan, ME, by the time he was 16. His father, a minister in the Nazarene Church, eventually got a position in Cambridge, in 1967, the year of the Red Sox's "Impossible Dream."

At the age of 8, Tink was given a Kodak box camera but his involvement with photography didn't take off until he was a student at Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy. Tink's first exhibition, which featured aged-photographs of Civil War uniforms and equipment, was displayed in the school's student union. According to him, it ended badly: "Someone stole the entire show."

In terms of his professional career and academic pursuits, "My focus has always been on human services, combining my background in health care, mental health, criminal justice, and human resources with training and experience in management ..." said Tink. Along the way, he's worked in retail, and has been a correctional social worker, psychiatric social worker, state psychologist, and administrator. He's now a consultant through his company, Tandem Care, Inc.

Photography has always been a part of Tink's professional life, but working in the correctional field limited him at times. According to Tink, "I've always tied photography into my work—grant writing, advertising, award ceremonies, store displays."

Tink made an easy transition from his Hasselblad and Olympus 35mm camera to digital photography. He uses Photoshop to crop pictures, but rarely alters his shots. According to Tink, he has taken more than a half-a-million pictures. 

The Show

Through his photography, Tink hopes to reverse what he describes as a "less than positive" view of the people from the Dominican Republic. He said, "I think that they are a beautiful people. ... This is a country that has come out of some very turbulent, difficult times in a positive fashion."

¡Domincanos! features three photo-essays, which Tink describes as stories shown through text and pictures.

1. "Shoe-Shine Boys" - A brightly painted wooden shoebox by Dominican Republic artist Pedro Veras is offered for sale ($500) as a fundraiser for Don Bosco's efforts to help children who live on the streets of Santo Domingo, shinning shoes instead of being educated. Tink works with a group of artists in the DR that includes Veras.
2. "Filling in Faces" - According to Tink, "People from the Dominican Republic are from so many different places, there is a perception that there isn't a distinctive look... I disagree." Faceless dolls from Moca, a city in the Dominican Republic, represents this misperception. Through his photographs, large- and small-in-scale, Tink hopes to put a face on the accomplished people of the Dominican Republic.
3. "Life and Limb" - "One of the things that bothers me about the Dominican Republic is that people place themselves at risk... I've seen entire families ride on a motor cycle." Tink's displays these risks through his photographs.

Future Shows

At the conclusion of ¡Domincanos!, the show will be displayed in Santo Domingo and other locations.

On Sept. 23, Tink will bring another show, "Art Without Rules," from the Autonomous University in Santo Domingo to the exhibition room at Tatnuck Booksellers in Westborough. Tink is a guest artist in this group of over 40 artists.

See the Show

The Westboro Gallery, a nonprofit cooperative, is open Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 3 p.m. The gallery is located at 8 West Main St. For more information, call 508-870-0110.