New exhibition documents Syrian refugee experience

Troy Shantz For Alawode Oluwasegun, or “Bisi” as he’s better known, taking photographs is about much more than framing the shot. “I sincerely love people and I try as much as possible to create stories with my photographs,” he said.

Troy Shantz

For Alawode Oluwasegun, or “Bisi” as he’s better known, taking photographs is about much more than framing the shot.

“I sincerely love people and I try as much as possible to create stories with my photographs,” he said.

With support from Lambton County and the Lambton Refugee Sponsors Network, the award-winning photographer has been documenting the lives of the Syrian families that fled the civil war to settle in Sarnia.

He’s been following the situation closely since the first families arrived.

“I wanted to create photographs that would be able to connect people to their stories,” said Bisi, who has spent nearly a year on the series.

As a Nigerian immigrant, Bisi said he can identify with the new arrivals and their early days in a new country. While documenting their journey, the Lambton College grad has made some new friends along the way.

“There were times when I’ve gone to visit them that I didn’t even bring my camera along,” Oluwasegun said.

An exhibition of his work will open Nov. 4 at the Lambton College Residence and Event Centre.

The event runs from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., with free refreshments available.