Look up Yamacraw Village or talk about it in passing and you will most likely find or hear these words: dangerous, shootings, drugs, crime, violence and red zone.
Given the medias coverage of the location you can’t imagine real people, and families with real, everyday struggle and problems, living there.
But fourth-year photography major, Marian Carrasquero from Caracas, Venezuela, did imagine.
And it is through her curiosity and her love for documentary photography, that she stepped into the unknown and shed a little light on Yamacraw Village.
“I was open to anything that I was going to find,” said Carrasquero.
Her documentary photography project titled “Yamacraw in the Sun,”– set to hang in The Lee O’Neil Gallery from June 3 – June 5–came out of just that.
“The first few times I went I didn’t even take my camera with me.”
Her approach to the project was to go in and really try to understand what the community was like, how the people were relatable and how they weren’t and just get to know their stories.
“For documentary it’s really important to understand what you are doing before actually starting to photograph.”
Carrasquero prioritizes her subjects being comfortable with her being there, in their homes, asking questions and photographing them. She mentioned trying to building relationships with them before beginning to document.
“And through that I tried to represent a part of this community that is often overlooked.”
Carrasqeuro had done a similar project on drag queen in Savannah. However being that some were SCAD students, she had an easier access to these people, unlike the Yamacraw project that was more difficult to get into.
“I felt more alienated at the beginning.”
Despite feeling this way and having some people refuse to let her in, Carrasqeuro remained persistent and kept trying with other houses and families.
“The first time I ever came into one of the houses, I was so happy that day,” Carrasquero shared. “Each time I got a little deeper into the community I’d get so happy,” she added.
Understandably, letting someone into an intimate and personal space such as your home, can be difficult and requires a lot of trust, some that not everyone is willing to give. But Carrasquero outlined how crucial it is to make the subjects feel as though they are also gaining and getting something.
“I would always come back and bring them prints of the photographs I took of them,” she explained. “That’s what they appreciated the most.”
Through her journey of entering the homes of the four families she focused on she gained a better understanding of the people in Yamacraw but also documentary photography itself as well as what makes a good documentarian.
“The purpose isn’t only making pretty pictures, it’s much more than that,” she said. “You can’t be selfish about it, you can’t just use these people as subjects and then leave.”
Although having done studio photography, Carrasquero is set in doing documentary for the foreseeable future, having applied to outlets such as CNN and NPR for after graduation.
“This is the a professional area in which you have so much contact with people that it never gets boring, it never gets old. I just love it.”
The reception will run from 6 to 9 p.m. on June 3, at The Lee O’Neil Gallery. For more information on the reception, visit the gallery website.
Written by Asli Shebe.
Asli Shebe is a senior writing major from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. She began working for District in 2014 as a staff writer, then copy editor, A&E editor, Chief Assignment editor and finally, Editor-in-Chief in 2017. Asli currently holds the record for obtaining the most job titles during her time at District. When she’s not writing for District you can find her biking around the Historic District of Savannah at odd hours of the day.
