Chris Donovan (Loyalist College)
Award of Excellence | Portfolio
Flint Showers
Tammy Brewer is a lifelong resident of Flint, Michigan and has not had a warm shower in her home in nearly two years as a result of the Flint Water Crisis. When news of the lead-tainted water first broke, Tammy continued to bathe in the water for a few months. She developed painful sores cause by lead particles. She now showers by emptying 24 water bottles into a bucket and pourring the water over herself with a cup.
Heels and Light
A woman crosses the street in Toronto, Canada.
Filling the Void
Sedra Sharbaji, 16, throws the daughter of a family friend, Lulu in the air outside of her home. Sedra’s father had to leave behind 15 grandchildren when he fled Syria for Canada. He said Lulu helps “fill the void†left in his heart.
Foggy Fishing
A fisherman prepares to cast his line into the Bay of Quinte in Belleville, Canada, on a cold and foggy November night. Fishing is prohibited in early winter on the bay so the men fish at night to avoid fines.
Remembering Evil
Dan Elman remembers sitting in his living room in eastern Canada in the 1930s listening to Adolf Hitler speak over the radio while his Jewish, German-speaking aunt translated. “I am from the era of slogans,†he recalled. He said Hitler used to repeat a phrase that translated to “no more Jews.†When Elman heard the crowd in Charlottesville chanting “Jews will not replace us,†he was transported back to his living room in the 30s.
Amish Boy
Uriah Miller, a young Amish boy sweeps the barn as his father milks the cows. He is not allowed to have his face photographed and he lives in a farmhouse in rural Canada with no elecrticity or running water alongside dozens of members of extended family.
Thoughts of Aleppo
Sedra Sharbaji, 16, listens to her father speak about fleeing Aleppo. Her family arrived in Canada as refugees from Syria in 2016. Her father was the mayor of a district in Aleppo, Bustan al-Qasr for more than a decade. Now in Canada, he is unable to work because he cannot speak English.
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Martin, 23, a small time crystal meth dealer in El Tapatio, Mexico kicks around a soccer ball with his friends as he waits for clients.
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Laura Avila washes her face with a fixture of rain water, salt and lime near her pile of salvaged belongings where she sleeps in Guadalajara, Mexico. Avila is part of a network of women known as “las patronas†who live along the freight rail tracks known as “the beast†of “the train of death†that migrants hop in an attempt to reach America. She spends most of her time salvaging goods that could be useful to migrants passing through on the train and gives them away.
Head in the Clouds
Jon MacNeill blows a cloud of vapour while listening to music at Folly Fest, a folk festival in eastern Canada.
East to the West
Mohamed Sharbaji, who was mayor of Bustan al-Qasr in Aleppo before fleeing to Canada sits in the parking lot of a lookout over the city near his apartment. He drives up to this lookout almost every day and thinks “from the east to the west,†an Arabic expression for thinking about everything.
The Last Races
The Armstrong Family has been harness racing at Exhibition Park Raceway for more than 100 years, but the future of the horse racing family may be in jeopardy. The once-thriving business has taken a serious economic hit in the last five years, and is now the last of five tracks in the region. Luke Armstrong, 21, hopes to turn things around and encourage young people to get into the sport by leading by example, racing alongside his father in a tradition that has lasted five generations.
Story: The Last Races
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Luke Armstrong, 21, is the fifth generation of his family to race at this track. He looks out the window of the stable as he waits for a race to begin.
Story: The Last Races
Racing
Ricky Armstrong, center, is the fourth generation of his family to race at Exhibition Park Raceway, where he has won over 400 races in 40 years.
Story: The Last Races
Tye
Kate Sheppard has a tattoo of her old horse Tye, who used to race regularly at Exhibition Park Raceway. Since the economic downturn of the track, she had to sell her horse because she could no longer afford the upkeep.
Story: The Last Races
The Judge
Dave Nicholson has been judging the races at the track for more than 40 years. He stares intently as the horses run up to the car which was modified into a start gate. When the competing horses line up the gate, he pulls a lever causing the gate to close along the sides of the car and the race begins.
Story: The Last Races
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Janette Shanks saw her first race at Exhibition Park when Luke Armstong’s grandfather was still racing in the the 1950s. She said she remembers whent he track had million dollar tickets. “Now we’re lucky if the big tickets are a thousand,†she said.
Story: The Last Races
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Competing horses, including Luke’s number 7, gallop alongside one another during a race.
Story: The Last Races
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Luke washes down one of his horses after a race. The Armstrongs own all of the horses that they race, which is not a common practice. According to Luke, young drivers aren’t often trusted with high-stakes horses so he bought his own horse with the help of prize money from his father’s races.
Story: The Last Races
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Luke Armstrong, left, congratulates his father Ricky on a hard-fought races as they head back to the stable.
On The Cusp
Guadalajara is the second largest city in Mexico and is quickly growing and becoming gentrified. For the residents living on the outskirts of the city, their lives are changing for the worse as foreign investment from the US makes it too expensive to live in the city. Many young people have turned to selling drugs to feed their families. Martin, 23, is one example. “I'm worried I won’t be able to feed my family if President Trump decides to wage economic war on Mexico,†he said. “We are on the cusp of a big change.â€
Story: On The Cusp
On the Bus
People ride a cramped bus in El Tapatio, a slum on the outskirts of the city where many poor people have been driven.
Story: On The Cusp
Financial District
The financial district of Guadalajara, seen form the top of a new high-rise that was highly contested by locals and backed by foreign investment.
Story: On The Cusp
Patriotism
Jesús shows off a tattoo of the Mexican coat of arms in El Tapatio on the outksirts of the city. Jesús and his friends are responsible for much of the anti-Trump grafitti that can be found in the area.
Story: On The Cusp
Waiting
Martin, 23, smokes weed with friends as he waits for clients in El Tapatio. Martin used to wash cars in Guadalajara for a living, but was forced to start selling weed and crystal meth to feed his family when the cost of living became too high.
Story: On The Cusp
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Story: On The Cusp
Change
A worker sands down concrete on a new building in “Central Park,†a business park created by American investors. The gated park was protested by locals because it was built on top of what was once a public green space.
Story: On The Cusp
Day and Night
Manuel has to work day and night driving his cab in order to make enough money to feed his family. He has racked up nearly a million kilometers on the vehicle.
Story: On The Cusp
Foreign Kingdom
A foreign investor from Canada looks out over the city from his condo in a high-rise that he helped build.
Port City Kids
When I was 5 years old, I asked my dad if the billowing oil refinery in my city was a cloud factory. He replied: "They make money." My hometown of Saint John, Canada is a city of extremes. Commonly known as "The Port City," it is home to one of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in Canada - home to the Irving family, who own the largest oil refinery in the country. It also has the highest child poverty rate in Canada at nearly 50 percent. Most residents either work for the Irving family or live on welfare.
Story: Port City Kids
Target Practice
Damian London, 10, takes his BB gun into the backyard for target practice in the Old North End of Saint John, Canada. The Old North End is one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Canada and is infamous for its vacant crumbling housing. Damian’s family is planning to move because of frequent violent clashes on their street.
Story: Port City Kids
Refinery
Residents walk past smoke stacks from the Irving Oil Refinery which is capable of refining more than 300,000 barrels of oile every day.
Story: Port City Kids
The Scream
A girl screams in her backyard in the Old North End of Saint John.
Story: Port City Kids
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Ryan, 11 plays with toy guns in his friend’s backyard in the south end of Saint John, Canada. The south end is the urban neighbourhood with the highest rate of child poverty in Canada at 50%.
Story: Port City Kids
Fed Up
Pat London screams at one of his five children to go to their room. Both Pat and his wife are illiterate and live on welfare but his wife, Jenn, is currently enrolled in a program that certifies mothers on welfare to work in early childhood education.
Story: Port City Kids
Fight
Ben, 10, chokes Sam, 11, after Sam walked to Ben’s house from another street looking for a fight and called Ben a “fat faggot.†Neighbourhood kids gathered and heckled from both sides, and one bystander screamed “kill him.†The South End of Saint John, Canada has the highest rate of child poverty in the country.
Story: Port City Kids
Girl with Ball
A young girl in Crescent Valley, the largest government housing neighbourhood in eastern Canada holds her ball as one of her five siblings runs into the house.
Story: Port City Kids
Playing
Three siblings who live in a government housing unit play on their mother’s bed.
Story: Port City Kids
Foggy Night
Darren, a lifelong resident of the South End of Saint John, Canada takes a puff of a cigarette while sitting in the entryway of his apartment building.
Patricia's Dolls
Patricia is known in her community as “the doll woman,†and is often bullied when people do not know her story. She suffered brain damage as a baby and has lived with a caretaker all of her life. At 12, she was raped by her father and became pregnant. She gave her son up for adoption and has never met him. Now 45, Patricia cares for her doll, Michael, among others as if they were real babies as a way to cope with trauma and the loss of her son.
Story: Patricia's Dolls
Play Time
Patricia plays with her doll Michael in her room in her caretaker’s house.
Story: Patricia's Dolls
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Patricia birngs her doll Michael for a walk to the corner store. She said she never feels lonely when she has one of her dolls with her.
Story: Patricia's Dolls
Bus Ride
Patricia rides the bus as a way to relax. She knows all of the bus drivers in the city and is very proud that all of the drivers know her name.
Story: Patricia's Dolls
Dear Son
Patricia writes a letter to her son asking him to come visit her. “I write my son letter all the time but I never know where to send them,†she said. Her son was supposed to meet Patricia when he turned 18, a moment she had looked forward to for years. He is now in his 20s and she has still never met him.
Story: Patricia's Dolls
At the Park
Patricia brings her doll to the park near her caretaker’s house.
Story: Patricia's Dolls
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Patricia brings her doll to the park near her caretaker’s house.
Story: Patricia's Dolls
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Patricia feeds her caretaker’s baby, Dominick. She loves having a real baby in the house and refers to him as her “little brother.â€
Story: Patricia's Dolls
New Clothes
Patricia dresses Dominick in new clothes after returning from Walmart. She spends most of her money buying new clothes for her dolls.