Photographer brings personal experiences from New Orleans catastrophe to Fine Arts Center gallery

11/9/07 - The wake of a hurricane prompted University of Massachusetts -Dartmouth student Jess Raimondi to photograph relief work in New Orleans for her final graduation project. Eighteen of Raimondi's photographs from her project titled "Post-Katrina New Orleans: More Than Picking up the Pieces" are currently on display in the photography gallery of the University of Rhode Island's Fine Arts Center.

Raimondi made three trips to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina struck the city in the summer of 2005. The Category 5 storm left thousands homeless and generated a massive humanitarian crisis.

"That first trip was the determining trip of what sucked me in," Raimondi, a Scituate, R.I. native, said.

Raimondi and other volunteers spent the first trip cleaning two houses, which took about a week, she said.

The second visit to New Orleans was a weekend road trip with her sister a year after the hurricane struck, Raimondi said.

Her third trip this April lasted a week and was a way to check up on the families with whom she formed an "intimate" relationship with.

The photos in the gallery are from all three trips, Raimondi said. The selected photos represents a minority of the hundreds of photos she took.

Raimondi said her interest in photojournalism developed from emotional captivation.

"I'm fascinated in telling a story through my own eyes," she said. "What I really love about photojournalism is the power of it."

Raimondi said she was proud of documenting the aftermath of the vicious storm.

"It was a lot about revisiting [the families]," she said. "Even though we'd gutted the homes it didn't mean they had the money to rebuild."

Her photos share more than just the story of the people of New Orleans. Raimondi uses the photos to encourage others to serve the community.

"I feel like everyone should be able to go down there and do the same thing I did," she said.

While rampant destruction can be depressing, Raimondi said the hurricane victims have a "positive outlook on things, even in the toughest situations."

Raimondi said memorable photos were "Light I" and "Light II." Workers cleaning out houses are in both photos, where the light shines through holes in the roof. The owner of one of the houses was trapped in his attic until a neighbor came to the rescue.

"What I like most about the photos is light," Raimondi said, adding that light is symbolic of hope.

She said that the hurricane survivors are optimistic. One of her photos on display is of a boy, "Baby D," who is smiling. Many photos also portray positive emotion.

"They all have a good spirit and it rubs off on you the longer you're down there," she said.

Judith Tolnick Champa, the director of Fine Arts Galleries at URI, said, "This is her first real cause in life. She wanted to use the university as a cross-section, informing the audience."

Champa said visitors to Raimondi's exhibit have included students from women's studies and sociology classes.

Champa said Raimondi is very in tune with the people of New Orleans. This relationship is illustrated through Raimondi's relationship with a local musician. Raimondi became a photographer of Little Freddie King, a local jazz musician, while she was in New Orleans.

"[Little Freddie King] is just amazing and sweet," Raimondi said. "His career is about taking his emotions and turning it to music."

King is a locally acclaimed musician, having attended 37 out of the last 38 New Orleans Jazz Festivals. She called King a "historic figure."

Raimondi's photos will be on sale, and a percentage of the proceeds will go to relief efforts in New Orleans.

Some of Raimondi's photos also appeared in The New Bedford Standard-Times.

Raimondi's photo exhibit will be on display until Dec. 9.