"Pou Reverans Matriyach La" which translates to "For the reverence of the matriarch" from Haitian Kreyol to English, explores the matriarchal figure in Haitian communities whether that is grandmothers, mothers, cousins, aunties, nieces, or daughters.
As someone who was raised by their grandmother, mother, and older cousin, and turn, helped raise their own younger siblings as well, women have been the main pillar in my family that kept the unit together.
Due to the machismo and sexist nature of Caribbean culture, like most cultures around the world, women are not given their flowers for all the hard work they do in these communities.
This project is centered around my grandmother Elisabeth Violette, for whom I was named Jennifer Violette. I spent time documenting my mother, grandmother, cousins, and uncle as we all came from my grandmother and she is the pillar that keeps us together.
This video is part of an overall project which includes portraits shot on both 120 & 35mm film, as well as digital photos.
If you listen closely to the audio, you can hear me and my mother having a conversation in Kreyol. This was done intentionally.