Jeudi 08 Janvier 2015 17:36:18 par actuphoto dans Expositions

http://www.slate.com/blogs/behold/2015/01/07/carlos_javier_ortiz_we_all_we_got_examines_youth_violence_in_chicago_and.html" by http://www.slate.com/blogs/behold/2015/01/07/carlos_javier_ortiz_we_all_we_got_examines_youth_violence_in_chicago_and.html"explores the consequences and devastation of youth violence in contemporary America between 2006 and 2013. Through a mix of powerful photographs, incisive essays and moving letters from diverse individuals affected by this scourge, Ortiz’s timely body of work brings home the true cost our country’s epidemic of gun violence.

Carlos Javier Ortiz’s work provides an avenue for knowing the children and their families whose lives are shattered by bullets. We All We Got is not the end of the conversation about youth violence and society’s complicity, but rather the beginning. The terror in the eyes of grieving children and inconsolable mothers allows the viewer to begin understanding the toll of this violence on the children who live within it.

© Carlos Javier Ortiz - Near South Side, Chicago, 2006

The stories in this exhibition take place in Chicago and Philadelphia. By repeatedly returning to the same neighborhoods over the course of eight years, Ortiz shows the plight of the communities with which he has built a deep connection. The viewer sees abandoned buildings, victims’ memorials, segregation, graffiti, juvenile incarceration and other constant reminders of the outcomes of violence on young people and their communities.

Yet, through all the heartbreak, in Chicago, Philadelphia, the Bronx and elsewhere, one also sees the resilience of the individuals left behind. And where there is terror, there is also a glimpse of the innocence that remains, and a tiny glimmer of hope.

© Carlos Javier Ortiz - Englewood, Chicago, 2008

Carlos Javier Ortiz works with photography, film, and text. As a visual artist, he specializes in long-term documentaries that focus on urban life, gun violence, race, poverty and marginalized communities. Ortiz collaborates with his subjects by asking them to share their personal narratives and testimonials. His work confronts human suffering while simultaneously illuminating compassion and optimism.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/behold/2015/01/07/carlos_javier_ortiz_we_all_we_got_examines_youth_violence_in_chicago_and.html"