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I photographed in Port-au-Prince, Haiti after the earthquake of 2010.
I went on my own,
and volunteered with an organization delivering water, and we taught art to orphans.
And these photographs came out of us visiting the tent cities,
and me being overwhelmed by
hundreds of thousands of people being forced to live in these massive tent
cities. At first I stayed at a distance, being a little bit nervous and
overwhelmed. But then I wanted to get in closer and more intimate to see
how people were living.
I mean my work from Haiti is, it's like the tip of the iceberg of showing
the world of people in makeshift homes right now.
I mean this is not the only place in the world where people have lost their way of living,
lost their home, and are being forced to live in conditions that are just really
inhumane.
The whole environment to being in a tent city felt like being on another
planet.
What surprised me the most was how strong and resilient everyone was.
And, that they could even have moments of joy
within this tragic disaster.
That they could be in a tent that they share with maybe eight to twelve people,
and
own practically nothing,
and be smiling and laughing. It blew me away.
The project kind of
metamorphosised on its own
because of the people that I met.
And I wanted to photograph just their, their tents, their homes,
but it was impossible not to photograph them,
because everyone wanted their photograph taken.
So I think people definitely needed to feel
that the outside world cared about them.
I hope that people register how difficult it is to lose everything and to live in
such a small temporary space with many other people.
And that it's a challenging situation
that fortunately most of us don't have to,
to deal with.
And so I'd like people to put themselves in the Haitians'
shoes, if you will.
Or their tent.
And just try to experience it by looking at the photographs. I want to take people
into the tent.
You know photography is a bridge.
It's not about being a victim,
it's about being in a tragic situation,
but saying hopeful
throughout it.