Kenneth Spence on Jerome Soimaud
“Yes we did”
Buffalo Soldiers
The émigré community of Little Haiti, located in the city of Miami is home to the largest population of Haitian immigrants of anywhere in the nation, many of whom - despite the U.S. government’s discriminatory immigration laws - escaped abject poverty, political anarchy and ravaged conditions in their homelands to reside in America, only to face a more perplexing case of racial and social inequality. Those who were fortunate enough to dodge deportation and become citizens; flocked to the voting booths during last year’s election in hope of a change to the double standard that have victimized them for over 50 years
Les Raras Lakay
A staggering 98% of Haitian refugees seeking political asylum in the U.S. are rejected; in contrast to the exorbitant amount of Cuban exiles who are routinely accepted, thanks to the revision of the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, more commonly known as the “wet foot, dry foot” policy, which allows any person who made it to the shores of the United States from Cuba, the opportunity to pursue residency. Every administration that has entered the White House since the first waves of Haitian immigrants were turned back in 1951 has turned a deaf ear to the cries of injustice. From Eisenhower to Bush, to Clinton, and Bush again, no one seemed concerned enough to seriously address the issue.
So one can just imagine the elation that permeated the air in Little Haiti on the night of the country’s general elections, as Barack Hussein Obama stood on the verge of becoming the 44th president of the United States of America. The man who had promised change was about to take office, an outpour of jubilation spilled like water from a broken fire hydrant into the streets and a few months later on the night of his inauguration, the celebration recommenced.
Artist Jerome Soimaud captured the joy of the community with a collection of beautifully profound photographs, wondrously organic images of an oppressed people, who finally found hope. In one photograph, aptly titled “The Next One”, a little girl with shoulder length extensions, dressed in pink, is shown dancing, grinning from ear to ear, the images of the adults that surround her in the backdrop are blurred, their profiles tower over her diminutive frame as they stand off a few paces, as if to allow her room to seize the spotlight. Of this photo and the others in a collection that Soimaud calls “Yes We Did”, he smiles and explains;
“I do it to engrave the moment, the people let the moment go, and I catch it like a fisherman casting his net”
the next one
Nearly two centuries ago, the first permanent photographic image was produced by French inventor Nicephore Niepce, who in that instance achieved every painter’s obsession; the absolute mastery of time. Initially critics and cynics alike struggled on whether or not to define photography as a fine art, the argument that most critics posed at the time, was that the camera is a machine and it basically does the work for the photographer.
While this was a valid point, the easy counter point was that the camera is no less an instrument of artistic expression than any other. Through its technology, the artist’s ability to capture what is seen and convey it to the observer in such a way that it evokes emotion could not be discredited.
Yes We Can
Increasingly, today there is a new form of photography that may need further critical engagement and acknowledgement - that is street photography. This particular genre of photography which reflects the harsh realities of our society is unlike the pristine panoramic masterpieces of Ansel Adams, it is much more personal and radical, ala Gordon Parks, bordering on activism. So as the fight to attain wall space in art galleries across the U.S. rages on, artists belonging to the genre, like South Florida’s Jerome Soimaud continue to produce inspiring material.
A native of France, the activist/photographer Soimaud migrated to the U.S. in 2006, after spending several years honing his painting skills while globe trotting the landscapes of the planet, and spiritually absorbing the distinctive cultures of the world’s underprivileged majority.
When asked about his concern about street photography’s inability to gain acceptance in the American art scene, he is visibly perturbed and states passionately;
“It is utterly ridiculous to say that street photography isn’t art”
This exasperation about its critical stature is understandable, his technique is a visual testament to the artistry that is involved in photography, the way he manipulates the camera’s focus to blur the images in the subject’s backdrop, accentuating the periphery to give an impression of motion, which simultaneously brings attention to the subject. He often toys with the city lights to create these swirling beams of light that encircle the subject of his photos, giving the observer a physical sense of the infinite waves of energy that inhabit the dimensions of time and space.
Regardless of what critics may think of street photography, the aesthetic appeal to Soimaud’s photographs are also obvious, and though he hopes for a change in conventional thinking towards street photography, his deepest concerns lie with a more troubling issue which requires a greater change, and that is the grave disparity of wealth between the social classes.
Throughout the history of man, the entire planet’s wealth and prized resources have always been secured in the hands of an esteemed minority for their own capricious exploits and waste, meanwhile the majority of the earth’s population lament over their unfortunate scourge, Soimaud hopes to bring attention to this grave imbalance through his work.
United States of Haiti
The significance of Barack Obama’s election to the presidency goes way beyond black and white race relations; it impacts all points of the social spectrum. Not only did it change the way minorities view themselves, but it also changed the way the white majority view minorities – defined by complexion or economic access – and it most certainly affected the way the rest of the world views America. This historic happening ushered in an atmosphere of plausibility for millions of scarred psyches, and now parents can truly assure their children; without a hint of inconceivability, that they can be anything they want to be.
With a new Administration now at the helm, many are confident that we now have a government in place that will work towards building a new system, one which will sincerely try to address the myriad of issues that afflict our society, such as joblessness, healthcare, immigration laws, and political corruption, to name a few. And although Obama’s victory proved that all things are indeed possible, his mission to remedy all these things, appears to be an insurmountable task, considering the economical state that the country finds itself in, but Soimaud is optimistic, stating, “I think we have finally come to a serious crossroads for what we stand for”. As for now, we will have to wait as the next four years unfold, to see what steps the Obama Administration will take towards creating the “change” he promised millions of Americans.
Courtesy Yeleen Art Gallery / Miami
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