Clam digging

When I walked on North beach, the far north coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands, early that morning and saw the Haidas digging for clams, I was stunned by the beauty of it. I took pictures of the workers and became very excited about the visual potential of the clam digging for an eventual photo story. After doing some research and finding out about the importance of clams in Haida culture, I found it relevant to do the my final assignment on this topic.


According to Haida legend, the breathtaking North beach is where a raven first brought people into the world by leading them out of a giant clam shell.

The clams are found between the high and low tide lines. Quarter-sized depressions in the sand show where clams are most likely hiding. If the sand moves when tapped, there's a clam below. The trick is to dig fast enough to catch up with the clam, which is burrowing deeper into the sand for safety.

A vital food source, clams are also economically important to the Haida community as the majority of licensed diggers are from there. Fish plants in the village of Masset process all clams, providing local employment, and supplying both food and bait markets. The fishery is notable as the first to be co-managed by the Council of the Haida Nation and the Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans of Canada, working together to conduct stock assessment, fis hery monitoring and biotoxin testing.

Islanders’ concerns stem around impacts of the recreational and commercial fisheries, clam abundance and population health, vehicle traffic on the beach and the use of clams for bait. Many of these issues continue to be addressed through the Haida Fisheries Program stock assessment and monitoring programs.

Fishermen getting ready for the season

Haida Legend


When I found that dead whale on the beach, I was stunned by the beauty and the aesthetic force of the textures and colours of its decomposing skin. Almost like abstract paintings (Serge Lemoyne style), it made me think of some Haida legends. The Haida spirit world is inhabited by many creatures from the sea, known as Tsagan xaaydagaay, or the underwater people. Many stories tell of Haida ancestors putting on skins of whales to enter the realm of the spirit world, where whale people and humans visit, communicate and feast together.

Pole Raising


I recently moved to Haida Gwaii the archipelago home to the Haida Nation. The Haida are known among the many West Coast nations as gifted artists, carpenters and boat builders. Having suffered the loss of 95% of their population after European contact, they are also a testament to survival. Today a wave of new artists are rediscovering the ancient stories, using them for inspiration to create new works of art. Painters, weavers, and totem pole carvers express themselves creatively and politically. Now their single biggest battle is to raise awareness of the serious threat posed by extensive and unsustainable forestry practices on their island home. I have been following the progression of a new totem pole currently being carved. This new totem will be raised on the solstice next week, which coincides with Canada`s aboriginal day. Pole raising is a very important event for the community; the collectives gather together around the totems as a way to affirm their identity and celebrate their culture.



Pole Raising-Solstice day

Photo essay 1
Church in the street
The presence of the church is undeniable in the streets of Victoria. One of the principal provider of services for homeless people are the different Christian groups such as the Anglican and the Evangelical's. The churches are present through a wide range of programs including supported or transitional housing, soup kitchen, hygiene facilities, professional training, thrift shops, food banks, health and dental services, emergency shelter, advocacy and “spiritual” support.


Several preachers promote Christianity within the homeless community and it seems that their message is being heard. I found the topic interesting to report: I went to different events provided by the church, visited its supported housing, met some priests and reverends active in the community, and had homeless people speaking out about their faith. As much as I disagree with the institution, I observe that for many people on the street the Christian faith provides a sense of hope.


Photo Essay 2

The Right to Sleep

Litigation concerning the right to sleep in public spaces is before the court pitting the municipality of Victoria against 70 demonstrators. The litigation provokes a social and judicial debate that could have consequences from coast to coast.

In October 2005, 70 people built a camp in Cridge Park in downtown Victoria. They wanted to protest against the authorities’ repressive attitude towards those who are obligated to sleep in public spaces.

Invoking the bylaw that prohibits loitering and building shelters in public spaces during the night, the city asked the court for a permanent injunction to rid the park of its inhabitants. The lawyers representing the campers argued that it was unconstitutional to prohibit homeless people from sleeping in public spaces when they don’t have anywhere they can legally sleep.

David Arthur Johnston, one of the demonstrators of Cridge Park, has contributed to the media excitement, by repeatedly disobeying the authorities’ directives. After many sanctions and imprisonments, David Arthur Johnston has persisted in sleeping at the St. Ann’s Academy, a provincial building. David Arthur Johnston was almost in a coma when he held a hunger strike for thirty six days during one of his internments last summer.


The city lost its case in October 2008 but has filed for an appeal. As it is, homeless people in Victoria are given constitutional protection against the bylaw. Until the decision of the appeal, they are allowed to build shelters and sleep in public spaces from 7pm to 7am.

Activist movements and organizations that help homeless people attentively follow the cause that could have important repercussions; the ultimate defeat of the municipality could lead to a precedent applicable all across Canada.


For this assignment, I went to different protests and events related to the issue of "The Right to Sleep" and interviewed several people involved. I also photographed authorities’ intervention (some violent) towards homeless people.

I found the activists to be very inspiring. They proved that solidarity and commitment to an idea can have a concrete affect and protesting the non-sense within the system is absolutely necessary to improve the society. I’m really happy with the story for the people I met. My main problem when doing the assignment was that I didn’t have any plan or scenario; I just went to the events without having a precise idea of the story I wanted to tell; I ended up with hundreds of pictures and a headache when it came to choosing only 5! I learned that it is not necessary to work so much on a story; it is more important to have a clear vision of it from the start, but yet, be flexible.



Photo Essay 3
Needle Exchange

The History of Victoria's Needle Exchange:

http://harmreductionvictoria.ca/?q=node/2

For me, the controversy around the Needle Exchange was very interesting to cover and I was excited to do a story about it. But since I had a very short time to do the assignment (I was given only half an hour with an outreach worker who works for the organization) and that I was asked to not photograph the clients, the result of this story is far from being satisfactory. I know that that kind of constraint is very common in journalism but it was still frustrating

Portrait Assignment


Streets

Since I have been working many times on homelessness throughout the semester, I ended up with a lot of material and decided to select photos from different shootings and bring them together in a “portraits folder.” I donated this to the Our Place Society, an organization that helps homeless people. When I met Reverend Al, the director of the organization, he suggested that I create a calendar for next year to bring awareness and raise money for the cause.






Portrait
Hands


When trying to report the reality of the street community, I always find myself confronting some ethical issues. How can I talk about homelessness without exploiting the homeless people? How can I talk about addiction, prostitution, violence, mental or physical illness, while respecting someone’s dignity and anonymity? It’s with those questions in mind that I started last year to shoot homeless people’s hands. Throughout the semester I kept shooting the hands of street people and I just presented the following project to a support institution for funding. I’m hoping to obtain at least enough funding to be able to print the photos and exhibit them. To my eyes, some of those very simple photos carry history, poetry and humanity, and perhaps some social and political message.








Portrait Kristine

When I met Kristine, I was instantly moved by her vulnerability and inner strength. She was very open about her experience in the streets, her drug addiction to crack and her struggle with her husband Billy, who is currently in jail. I ran into her several times and every time, she asked me to take some portraits. For her seventh marriage anniversary, I took some romantic pictures of her and her husband. The whole thing was very humorous. Energetic, happy and loving, Kristine is definitely one of the jewels of the street. She gave me another understanding of the factors that could bring someone to the streets. She enlightened several times the fact that she found in the street freedom, companionship, support of her peers, warmth, humanity…




Portraits of Leya
Research on texture
To finish the portrait assignment, I treated myself with a shooting of strictly aesthetic research with Leya Tess Anderson, a local artist. We basically explored and used the elements available around us to create some effects. We used different types of glasses, water, mirrors, bottles, etc. Playful and laid back.