Photographer and film maker Alice Smeets produces her photographic take on tarot cards in the ghetto of Haiti.
Based on an original tarot deck designed by artist Pamela Colman Smith in 1909, Belgian photographer Alice Smeets has produced her humorous and beautiful take on the spiritual cards by recreating each one in the ghetto slums of Haiti. Having worked and lived in Haiti for a number of years, Alice wanted to represent the Haitian culture and society without photographing the obvious states of poverty around the countries capital of Port-au-Prince. All the photos were created with the help of a group of Haitian artists known as Atis Rezistans (resident artists) and only using materials and sets they had on offer within the ghetto.
“For a long time, I have wanted to interpret the Tarot Deck with my photos, but taking ordinary pictures of the scenes seemed too simple. My aim was to create a very personal deck without loosing the different spirits of the cards.” – Alice Smeets.
