The Iona College Council on the Arts opened its newest exhibit, titled “Shifting Focus: Hidden in Plain Sight,” in the Brother Kenneth Chapman Art Gallery on Oct. 20.

The exhibit features 58 photographs from Iona alumni, current students and faculty members. All of the photographs in the exhibit reveal hidden images or patterns to the viewer that he or she may not have initially seen while looking at the photo. For instance, one photograph titled “Reflecting on Tears” – taken by sophomore Rebecca Olivari – shows a girl who at first looks like she’s crying, but if one looks closer, it becomes clear that the girl’s “tear” is actually condensation dripping down the mirror she is looking into.

Rick Palladino, the director of libraries at Iona and the curator for the exhibit, said that he worked together with the Gallery Director and Coordinator of Arts Programming Madalyn Barbero-Jordan to come up with the exhibit’s theme.

“We came up with this whole thing of looking at a photograph and all of a sudden, seeing a face or a unique pattern, and [thought about] how we could maybe build a theme around that,” Palladino said.

This idea of being surprised by works of art continues in the music that was chosen to play in the gallery while the exhibit is on display. Barbero-Jordan picked out the majority of the music, all of which either includes the word “surprise” in the song’s title or includes surprising elements throughout the song.

The Brother Chapman Gallery rarely includes exhibits that are solely made up of photos, according to Barbero-Jordan.

“A lot of people like photography exhibitions, and we don’t have one every year,” she said. “A lot of students do photography, and they like it, so it is good to include this medium [in the gallery].”

Barbero-Jordan also said “Shifting Focus” is the only exhibit out of the five being featured at the gallery this academic year that exclusively features juried work from Iona faculty, staff, alumni and current students. Many of the people whose work was picked for the exhibit have never had their photographs professionally displayed in an exhibit before, according to Palladino.

Elvira Viaggio Molinari ‘81, who works in finance, was one of the alumni who contributed photos to the exhibit. Both of her photos that were accepted for the exhibit depict the unique shapes of the rock formations she saw during her trip to the Lower Antelope Canyon in Arizona.

“I’ve always loved taking pictures,” Molinari said. “I’ve always had a photographic eye. I love having memories of places that I’ve been, especially unusual things I have seen.”

“Shifting Focus: Hidden in Plain Sight” will be on display in the gallery until Nov. 29. The gallery, which is located in the Iona College Arts Center, is open from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays and 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursdays.