An articulate 22-year old Honours (first class) graduate in Fine and Applied Art, Louise Barr recently made waves when her photographic studies of things abandoned, mostly shot around the Maguiresbridge area where she lives, went on a week-long exhibition in the Art College in Belfast.

She has other strings to her bow, but more about those later. It was at her family home (her parents are John and Desna) that Louise introduced us to some of her blow-ups of otherwise idyllic rural scenes, but where the lens also captured a personal link with a time long past, a child's bike rusted in half, frayed curtains and faded postcards.

It was left to Louise to explain her fascination with her unusual subject matter: "I am drawn to areas which show or hint at a once human presence which had previously inhabited these spaces. I wish to portray this feeling of 'past presence' through the medium of photography, evoking the recollection of one's personal memories and imagination".

Hence, her discovery in Kilmore, just off the Lisnaskea-Derrylin Road, of an abandoned chalet which she was able to get inside to shoot an image through a broken window: "What was interesting about it was when you looked at it close up was the idea of violence in that it looks like a bullet-hole. So, you have the contrast, a beautiful setting and this other element".

She is certainly an intrepid young lady, who thinks nothing of trekking through undergrowth in search of things forgotten and abandoned, as she says it herself, 'places or objects tat were once used but have now been left behind'. For instance, her cv explains how, during the past five Summers, she has been the leader of church camps and clubs, helping them to arrange an activity-packed programme for groups of children, from 15-strong up to 120-strong.

"In most parts", she states, "this demanding environment has developed my awareness of health and safety, child protection, patience, leadership, task organisation/delegation, and teaching skills".

Interestingly, in each of those years, Louise has been asked to design and provide posters, as a visual aid, for various activities.

She is a past pupil of the Collegiate Grammar School in Enniskillen where she left with An 'A' in A-Level art and 'B's' in the History of Art and English Literature. From there, it was straight into the University of Ulster, Belfast where she secured a Diploma in Foundation Studies in Art and Design and then that first-class honours.

She felt that being chosen to exhibit for the week-long exhibition as important: "The whole year's graduates' work was on display, about 100 in all, of which about 10 per cent were from the first-class honours' pieces.

"My work was spread over three themes, 'Dismissed', 'Intrusion', and 'Fractured', and, as well as the blow-ups, I had three books, one for each theme, each containing 15-20 small scale images. Yes, it was a unique theme, and lots of people seemed really interested. I sold about 10.

"I loved doing it very much, and it's important that I enjoy my work, going into places and seeing what's left behind and abandoned. For instance, I was in places where folk left behind personal belongings. I can recall one house where I came across photographs of those who had lived there, and clothes. It makes you wonder where are these people now?".

Susan and Stephen make up the Barr family whose dad, John is an art lover and from whom she thinks her own interest was derived.

"I have always been surrounded by art", she explained. "Even when I was young, Mum recalls that I was always making things and drawing things from as long as she can remember."

But, even the artist needs a break, so for the coming year, Louise is taking a break but, beyond that, she has an eye on certain photography courses and she's also contemplating doing a Masters.

Not bad for someone who can feel equally a home running a creative and aesthetic session for a Playgroup, taking an introductory class on silk painting for adult volunteers on the Home Start scheme, being the resident artist/designer in a Belfast Hotel, where she did a series of windows, and utilising her impressive interpretative skills to conduct 45-minute sessions as a therapist for an organisation, Applied Behaviour Analysis and Autism.