I’ve never really understood tarot cards and I probably would never get a reading but I like the creativity of this project and the fact that it’s helping these Haitian artist get professional exposure. According to Alice Smeets who headed the project, Ghetto Tarot is a mix of “the spiritual world, the Haitian culture and people as well as the philosophical reflections about the dualities in our world.”
In the article and interview with Alice Smeets at 500px,
The creativity of some photographers astounds me. Just when you think you’ve seen every creative, strange, and unique photo idea, another comes along that would never have crossed your mind.
That was the case with Ghetto Tarot, a creative photos series created by award-winning documentary photographer Alice Smeets and a group of Haitian artists known as Atiz Rezistans. These fascinating images transform the mysterious (and, depending on what you believe, prophetic) cards into real life scenes captured in the ghetto of Haiti, using found items that the Haitian artists themselves provided and created for the project. But this isn’t just an odd photo project that ends with a set of images that will quickly pass into the ones and zeroes of Internet-past, doomed to be re-discovered years later… or not. Alice is currently turning Ghetto Tarot into a true-blue deck of cards!
Already half-funded on IndieGoGo with 29 days left, you can get your own 78-card deck of Ghetto Tarot cards for just 25 euros if you act fast, or 32 if you don’t. There are also posters, charitable donations, a photography lesson, a photo book, and more up for grabs if you’re not into getting a deck.
Here’s a video ( below) the Haitian artists themselves created, talking about the Ghetto and what the Ghetto Tarot project means to them. It was put together by Romel Jean Pierre (of Atis Rezistans) and Jon Kaufman – Continue Reading Here
Here is a list provided by Alice of the Haitian artists involved in the project.
Casseus Claudel — He was my personal assistant during this project and managed the crew of artists. He modeled for many photos, including the Judge.
Andre Eugene — He is the founder of Atis Rezistans and his art is very famous. On the Death photography, you can see one of his sculptures in the background.
Herad Blondine — She assisted me on many days. Amongst other characters, she plays the Queen of Wands.
Racine Polycarpe — An old friend of mine that played the Magicien.
Amboise Nathalie — I have met her for the first time when I was documenting the earthquake aftermath in 2010. She was the first person to bring me to the outside art studio of Atis Rezistans. She is on the photography of the Star.
Mario Alito Denis — He was a wonderful person to work with. He created lots of the material we used for the pictures, like the cat on the Queen of Wands photography, which is made out of an old car tire. He is the person staging the Death photography.
Wesner Bazil — Wesner is an amazing actor, who immediately understood the spirit of the cards and made it very easy to work with him.
Claudy Chamblin — Claudy is usually not part of the group of Atis Rezistans, but helped and took care of me while I was photographing in his hometown Cité Soleil, which can sometimes become a little dangerous.
Jean Robert Palanquet — Another wonderful character, who staged in all the Knight pictures.
And here are the names of more artists that appear in the pictures:
Innocent Londel, Rossi Jacques Casimir, Guely Laurent, Ralph Georges, Anchella Jasmin, Desrosiers Theresa Sley, Mehule Marley Manoly, Steevens Simeon, Leonce Syndia, Wilson Bonhomme, Laura Morel, Louis Kervens, Jean Daniel, and Eliphete Dieu.
Source: Huffington Post
