"HOPE for HAITI" the premiere exhibition...

On Friday, June 25th, 2010, a photography exhibition featuring images created in Jacmel, Haiti, three months after the earthquake by professional photographer and humanitarian Rodney Rascona, will be on exhibit at the historic Icehouse in downtown Phoenix, Arizona.  These images represent one brief moment in time where individuals forgot about their worries and stood for Rodney, giving him the gift of their image in what are difficult times for many of his subjects, lending honest testimony to the unfailing hope which the Haitian people, despite such enormous personal loss, still possess...

These images, along with additional multi-media formats being prepared for the exhibit, were created by Rodney as a way to support The Paradigm Project and Suisse-based Medair, in raising awareness to the serious conditions the Haitian people continue to endure long after their story has left the news cycle. 

Please contact Rodney at rrascona@aol.com directly with any event related questions.  If you would like to attend the exhibition please RSVP at the link located at the right hand side of this post.

An introduction...

As an experienced image maker and veteran of numerous campaigns throughout the developing world, Rodney was invited to Haiti to play his role in raising awareness to the issues currently affecting the Haitian community. The majority of these images were created in the community of Jacmel which is located along the southern coastline of Haiti, a little more than four hours drive from Port Au Prince.  The anchor image represents the backdrop for "The Pink Door Photographs" and offers a glimpse...or one small slice of the vast, rich fabric which is the Haitian community. A community which shouldn't be defined by mountains of rubble nor statistics nor the tragedy that has befallen it's people, their family and friends and their homes...

While not everyone survived this immense tragedy, those that have are trying to sort out their lives by asking questions on which way to turn, how to move forward, where to find work and what to do with themselves as they deal with the enormous pain for having lost loved ones underneath the debris. Still, more pressing questions remain each day.  Where will I sleep tonight.  Where can I find something to eat.  Is my family safe tonight while they sleep and how do I take care of my babies when I have nothing left to give...

As the tragedy in Haiti left the news cycle to be replaced by the Grammy's on one end to the next major catastrophe in Chile, on the other...it's fitting for mature photographers to play their role in a responsible, ethical and moral capacity with the goal being to keep global issues that surround Haiti's people in front of those seeking ways to equally play their role...to assist a nation in getting back on it's feet.

This significant body of work, untraditional in concept, illumination or composition...is unlike any work currently in the media surrounding the Haitian disaster and was made possible solely by The Paradigm Project and their friends within the Suisse-based relief organization, Medair. Without their trust and their financial support, the images presented at the exhibition and the lives it will portray, would have never come to life.

The Pink Door...

Caption:  This location provides the backdrop for a series of images that center around Hope...which at it's core, presents the indelible
spirit of the Haitian people who...refuse to go quietly.

"Ayiti Spirit..."

Caption: This image has surfaced to be the brand image of "The Pink Door Photographs"..off the street in Zone 2. Benoit is a 21 year old 
high school student who "was scared of how things were going because no one is saying when things are going to get better"...yet he 
wanted to be seen as having "Ayiti Spirit" and that he was hopeful for the future of his country...

"Reggie"

 
Caption:
After the earthquake, Reggie managed to salvage from the rubble the baskets he uses to deep fry plantains.  He spends all day, cleaning
and pealing plantains so he can sell them at night on the streets of Jacmel.  He uses the little bit he makes to send his children to school,
works so hard and refuses to go to the camps, preferring to stay in his humble home and to work for the future to come...

"The Pink Door Photographs"

We each move through life differently. We overcome pain and tragedy in different ways and, at some point in time, we each come through and move on. But what does a society look like when everyone is hit by the same catastrophe at the same time? In the town of Jacmel in south east Haiti a community of people are recovering. There has been loss. There is still uncertainty however there is also a future. The sun keeps rising every day and people wake up and have little choice but to carry on. For a moment in time, between tragedy and recovery, amongst pains and hopes, this community took the opportunity to stand proud before a pink door and express what they see in their life ahead...

Many brought an item salvaged from the debris to take into their future while many others simply said..."all that i have left is myself" and so an ad hoc group of subjects comprised of hip hop artists, musicians, painters, humble men and women in the best clothes they had, posing teenagers and playing children, friends family a neighborhood and a photographer...who amongst the rubble and the grief - together in the dark of night... could be heard laughing and singing old Bob Marley songs...

And for just one moment we all forgot the damage, the mosquitos, the heat and yes...we even forgot the earthquake...for just one moment

In-Kind Donations

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