Sunday, July 4, 2010

Still Here: Images from Haiti

Still Here: Images from Haiti is a show which is currently hanging at the Ag2 Gallery in the French Press at 1101 State St. in Santa Barbara, CA. The images were taken while I was in Haiti this March and April working with a few NGOs.

Still Here: Images from Haiti

Photographs by Lindsey Ross

Innocence, playfulness, levity, and weightlessness still exist in Haiti as people seek escape from tragedy and hardship.

Haitians have a relentless spirit and enjoy life in ways anyone can relate to: spending time with their family and friends, swimming in rivers on hot days, riding bikes buoyantly through their neighborhoods. While it is important to be aware of Haitian hardship, it is equally important to celebrate the other, joyful side of Haitian life. One does not exist without the other – both are essential to the human experience.

The title “Still Here” was borrowed from a multimedia dance performance “Still/Here” choreographed by Bill T. Jones, which expressed all facets of the human experience of terminally ill patients. My parents took me to see this dance performance at the Wexner Center in Columbus, OH when I was 13.