A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE - JAMAICA TOURIST ISSUE 16
Look into the perceptive, blue eyes of a Max Earle, and you will instantly know that you have met a caring, sensitive soul who firmly believes he can change the world through kindness. Comments the CEO and Creative Director of Frame by Frame Productions; “I believe that we can effect positive change if we actively participate in creating that change.” Through ‘The Tivoli Project’, the filmmaker shared his talent for telling stories through images with 10 teenage boys who witnessed the recent conflict in Tivoli Gardens first hand. Under Max’ gentle leadership, the youngsters were given the opportunity to portray their lives and futures through photographing motifs in their neighborhood. Many things can happen when someone helps you look at your life from a different perspective through the lens of a camera and the insight, resilience and optimism of their images have touched many.
Max became interested in photography and film at Munro College in Kingston, where he first witnessed an image develop on a blank piece of photo paper. “The rest is history,” states the film producer and advertising professional. After being awarded a scholarship to the University of Miami, from which he graduated with a BA in Communications specializing in photography and film, Max went on to pursue a MA in Advertising and Marketing from the New York Institute of Technology. But after a few years studying abroad, the shores of his native land called and he returned to the island. “Jamaica has always been my home, so after freelancing for a couple of years, I set up Frame by Frame productions together with Lukkee Chong in 1993.”
While media and advertising are his bread and butter, Max has earned a lot of positive attention through his latest community project in Tivoli Gardens. Says Max; “If you had told me then that I would be in the heart of Tivoli Gardens photographing within a month of the skirmishes, walking through the worst hit areas without fear, I would have told you that you were out of your mind! It really is amazing what life has in store for you, and what good can come to you if you embrace opportunities with an open heart.”
Born from an idea presented to Max, Rozi Chung and Dr. Tammy Haynes-Robinson by Dr. Rebecca Tortello, ‘The Tivoli Project’ was based on the notion of using photography as a way for traumatized youth to communicate their thoughts and feelings about the recent conflict between police and thugs. Explains Max; “The objective was to provide an avenue for the teenagers to express themselves in a non-conventional way. One of the goals was to get the young men to put their past into perspective and allow them to move forward in as positive a way as possible.”
Through the two week long undertaking, the filmmaker applied himself to transferring his passion for photography to 10 young men between 14 – 17 years of age, chosen by the leaders of the Tivoli Gardens Community Centre. Equipped with basic pocket ‘point and shoot’ digital cameras and 1 gigabyte memory cards, purchased with funding from the JN Foundation photo advocacy programme Resolution Project, the 10 teenagers were sent out to photograph their neighbourhood. Shares Max; “Instead of direct assignments, we allowed the boys full freedom of expression with their images. By asking them to take pictures of their past, present and future, as well as their families and environment, we were hoping that we could identify a thread we could use to discuss their lives.”
“After the participants began taking pictures, Max and Rozi met with their young protégées in a room at the Tivoli Gardens Community Centre every other day to download their photos." Explains Max; “While the boys were not so interested in the downloading aspect, they were very anxious to see the pictures on my laptop screen and chat about them.”
One would think that images of war and destruction would be the inevitable end result of photographing the Tivoli Gardens environs following the recent skirmishes between thugs and police, but that is where the group of youngsters surprised everyone. “Although a lot of images of bombed, burnt and shot up buildings came back, interestingly, there were just as many images of areas that had sustained no damage at all. One young man took a picture of a painting of a house in a field, by a river; his ‘dream home’. Very powerful stuff,” describes Max.
Asked how he believes the initiative has helped the group of young men, the Creative Director describes some of the changes he has seen materialise in the participants; “When we first met the group, we encountered scepticism and long, sad faces. As the two weeks went by, the smiles and the outgoing “boy-like” personalities came out in abundance.” More importantly, the teenagers opened themselves up to one-to-one counselling at the end of the exercise and requested that the project leaders continue to stay in touch with them. Comments Max; “I think that while the project helped them realized that you cannot change your past, you can place it in the proper perspective and use it to change your future.”
About his motivation to get involved in the project, the father of two says he thought it was important to show the teenagers in Tivoli Gardens that people outside their community cared about them and wanted to help. “Where a need has been identified, don’t ask what you can do. Just show up and your question will be answered. That’s essentially what I did. I showed up.” Max hopes that his efforts will rub off on his own sons Shane (9) and Daniel (7); “I am hoping to set a good example for my boys. This experience has been a gift, one that I will never forget and one that I will gladly repeat.”
Besides Max, the ‘The Tivoli Project’ project group includes Rozi Chung, Dr. Tammy Haynes-Robinson, Dr. Rebecca Tortello, Mike Robinson, who filmed a video about the project, and Jonothan Greenland, who is assisting with the upcoming exhibition. The ultimate hope of the group is to create a model that can be used to go into other areas of the island, where the need for this type of interaction has been identified. With a selection of the photographs from the project exhibited at Kingstons Grosvenor Garden during the month of November, the organizers are currently working to show the exhibition in New York, Florida, Philadelphia and Las Vegas. The aim of the exhibition is to raise money for counseling of youth in the area of Tivoli Gardens. Donations can be made through Facebook or through www.chichibud.org.
Max became interested in photography and film at Munro College in Kingston, where he first witnessed an image develop on a blank piece of photo paper. “The rest is history,” states the film producer and advertising professional. After being awarded a scholarship to the University of Miami, from which he graduated with a BA in Communications specializing in photography and film, Max went on to pursue a MA in Advertising and Marketing from the New York Institute of Technology. But after a few years studying abroad, the shores of his native land called and he returned to the island. “Jamaica has always been my home, so after freelancing for a couple of years, I set up Frame by Frame productions together with Lukkee Chong in 1993.”
While media and advertising are his bread and butter, Max has earned a lot of positive attention through his latest community project in Tivoli Gardens. Says Max; “If you had told me then that I would be in the heart of Tivoli Gardens photographing within a month of the skirmishes, walking through the worst hit areas without fear, I would have told you that you were out of your mind! It really is amazing what life has in store for you, and what good can come to you if you embrace opportunities with an open heart.”
Born from an idea presented to Max, Rozi Chung and Dr. Tammy Haynes-Robinson by Dr. Rebecca Tortello, ‘The Tivoli Project’ was based on the notion of using photography as a way for traumatized youth to communicate their thoughts and feelings about the recent conflict between police and thugs. Explains Max; “The objective was to provide an avenue for the teenagers to express themselves in a non-conventional way. One of the goals was to get the young men to put their past into perspective and allow them to move forward in as positive a way as possible.”
Through the two week long undertaking, the filmmaker applied himself to transferring his passion for photography to 10 young men between 14 – 17 years of age, chosen by the leaders of the Tivoli Gardens Community Centre. Equipped with basic pocket ‘point and shoot’ digital cameras and 1 gigabyte memory cards, purchased with funding from the JN Foundation photo advocacy programme Resolution Project, the 10 teenagers were sent out to photograph their neighbourhood. Shares Max; “Instead of direct assignments, we allowed the boys full freedom of expression with their images. By asking them to take pictures of their past, present and future, as well as their families and environment, we were hoping that we could identify a thread we could use to discuss their lives.”
“After the participants began taking pictures, Max and Rozi met with their young protégées in a room at the Tivoli Gardens Community Centre every other day to download their photos." Explains Max; “While the boys were not so interested in the downloading aspect, they were very anxious to see the pictures on my laptop screen and chat about them.”
One would think that images of war and destruction would be the inevitable end result of photographing the Tivoli Gardens environs following the recent skirmishes between thugs and police, but that is where the group of youngsters surprised everyone. “Although a lot of images of bombed, burnt and shot up buildings came back, interestingly, there were just as many images of areas that had sustained no damage at all. One young man took a picture of a painting of a house in a field, by a river; his ‘dream home’. Very powerful stuff,” describes Max.
Asked how he believes the initiative has helped the group of young men, the Creative Director describes some of the changes he has seen materialise in the participants; “When we first met the group, we encountered scepticism and long, sad faces. As the two weeks went by, the smiles and the outgoing “boy-like” personalities came out in abundance.” More importantly, the teenagers opened themselves up to one-to-one counselling at the end of the exercise and requested that the project leaders continue to stay in touch with them. Comments Max; “I think that while the project helped them realized that you cannot change your past, you can place it in the proper perspective and use it to change your future.”
About his motivation to get involved in the project, the father of two says he thought it was important to show the teenagers in Tivoli Gardens that people outside their community cared about them and wanted to help. “Where a need has been identified, don’t ask what you can do. Just show up and your question will be answered. That’s essentially what I did. I showed up.” Max hopes that his efforts will rub off on his own sons Shane (9) and Daniel (7); “I am hoping to set a good example for my boys. This experience has been a gift, one that I will never forget and one that I will gladly repeat.”
Besides Max, the ‘The Tivoli Project’ project group includes Rozi Chung, Dr. Tammy Haynes-Robinson, Dr. Rebecca Tortello, Mike Robinson, who filmed a video about the project, and Jonothan Greenland, who is assisting with the upcoming exhibition. The ultimate hope of the group is to create a model that can be used to go into other areas of the island, where the need for this type of interaction has been identified. With a selection of the photographs from the project exhibited at Kingstons Grosvenor Garden during the month of November, the organizers are currently working to show the exhibition in New York, Florida, Philadelphia and Las Vegas. The aim of the exhibition is to raise money for counseling of youth in the area of Tivoli Gardens. Donations can be made through Facebook or through www.chichibud.org.
