Moldova 2010
Ongoing project about a gypsy family living in extreme poverty, 3 mothers with 28 children in a 1-bedroom apartment in Soroca, Moldova.
Darcy and Sadie weather the storm on a December evening near Sharbot Lake, Ontario, 2008
Lisa Griffiths was diagnosed with schizophrenia 15 years ago. She is a chain smoker smoking two packs per day, her fingers got brown from nicotine. 2009, Belleville, Ontario.
Debroussaillage is the French word for thinning or brush cutting, a very exhausting and difficult job.
The job is seasonal, only for five months a year starting in late May and ending in November. It consists of clearing the commercial wood plantations with blade saws. The workers, immigrants most of them, live in remote camps in the forest during the entire season, away from their families and homes. They usually begin their work day early in the morning, working a minimum of eight hours a day in places swarming with mosquitoes and black flies. They get payed according to the square they clear. Faster they work – more money they earn. The only reason they do this exhausting job is money, the local Quebecers are not willing to do this little prestigious job any longer.
The series was shot in Quebec province of Canada during 2008 – 2009 seasons, the workers are immigrants from Africa and former USSR.
This project was photographed as part of 2009 Magnum Workshop Toronto at Contact Photo Festival. Christopher Anderson was my instructor/mentor during the workshop. Most photographs were made at Kensington Market.
Moldova 2005-2006
