Focal Point - Regan Shercliffe BA(Hons)’94

Regan Shercliffe BA(Hons)’94 completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Regina in 1994. For the past 11 years Shercliffe has worked as a staff counsellor with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). He is the chief of staff counselling for the World Food Program which won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2020. Shercliffe lives in Rome where his love for photography is able to flourish.

“Pausing and thinking about what you are seeing before taking a photo makes you look at a country, city or town in a different way, you in essence stare a little longer and you find themes and patterns. For me, black and white photography allows you to emphasize those patterns in a way that transforms the scene and the image. In short, black and white photography allows more room for interpretation. Plus we see in colour everyday, so why not use a medium that allows for a different perspective? I have been in Italy for four years —Rome specifically. Italians only rally around the country if it relates to football, otherwise it’s all about what region or city you live in. If you like quiet and solitude, Rome is not for you. However, the pandemic changed all of that and for almost a year you could have the center of Rome all to yourself (or at least devoid of tourists). It was strange to say the least and never something I would have thought possible – very much like the pandemic. Some of these photos were taken before the pandemic, and others in the middle of the pandemic when Rome was quiet.” – Regan Shercliffe

Columns at the Vatican.
Scooters line a street in Florence.
A couple walks down a street after a posh wedding in Pienza, Tuscany
The Roman Colosseum with the Arch of Constantine on the left.
Little Waterfalls under the Ponte Gregoriano in Tivoli, Lazio, about 30 kilometres north east of Rome.
Rome’s famous Trevi Fountain.
A step holds planters near Lago Bracciano, just north of Rome.
The Pantheon, a former Roman temple that has served as a church since 609 AD.
Ancient Flavian palace, Domus Flavia, on the Palatine Hill in Rome.