Stephanie Wettstein 12, Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura. May 2011, Bronx, NY.
Hans Scipts 16, awaiting heart transplant. May 2011, Bronx, NY.
Alfred Johnson 11, osteosarcoma, dances with Certified Child Life Specialist, Talia Haviv. May 2011, Bronx, NY.
Jose Bonilla Herrera, 18, post kidney transplant. May 2011, Bronx, NY.
(L-R) In pink, date of patient; in blue Zadie Gonzalez 13, post liver transplant; in peach Rosemary Ankomah 13, post liver transplant; in green Dazjahonique Johnson 13, brain tumor. May 2011, Bronx, NY.
(L-R) James Linton 16, renal disease with Jose Bonilla Herrera 18, post kidney transplant. May 2011, Bronx, NY.
Rosemary Ankomah 13, post liver transplant. May 2011, Bronx, NY.
Alfred Johnson 11, osteosarcoma. May 2011, Bronx, NY.
(L-R) Subject in mask agreed to be photographed but didn't want name used; Samantha Serrano 18, diabetes; and Rosemary Ankomah 13, post liver transplant. May 2011, Bronx, NY.
Montefiore Children's Hospital Annual Prom crowns a king, queen, prince and princess every year, by vote. May 2011, Bronx, NY.
Dominick Walters 19, Sickle Cell Anemia. May 2011, Bronx, NY.
(L-R) Tatyana Maldonado 14, Sickle Cell Anemia, and Dazjahonique Johnson 13, brain tumor. May 2011, Bronx, NY.
Trumpet player Riley Mulherkar at Montefiore Children's Annual Prom. May 2011, Bronx, NY.
Kiara O'Loughlin 17, germ cell tumor, is crowned Prom Queen at Monefiore Children's Hospital Annual Prom. May 2011, Bronx, NY.
(L-R) Mikiel Davis 15, Sickle Cell Anemia with date. May 2011, Bronx, NY.
Jakai Fullerton 12, neuroblastoma, is asked to dance after being crowned Prom Prince at Monetifore Children's Annual Prom. May 2011, Bronx, NY.
Staff member Meghan Kelly, director of Child Life; with patient (who agreed to be photographed but didn't want name used). May 2011, Bronx, NY.
Montefiore Children’s Hospital, located in the Bronx, hosts an annual prom for their teenage patients every year, offering them a temporary escape from their illness by providing them an opportunity to feel like normal kids for an evening.
Although the hospital has a whole mix of children with different illnesses, the majority of the kids, 600 patients in total, have sickle cell anemia, an inherited blood disorder that affects the red blood cell’s ability to delivery oxygen throughout the body. The amount of pain these children experience is unimaginable.
The prom was a great night; one many of us have experienced but I imagine can only be appreciated more by children who have fewer moments like it. Eleven year old, Alfred, who was sporting a large feather that night and danced up a storm suffers from bone cancer, which is the eighth most common form of childhood cancer. Hans, 16, who pulled around an IV machine the entire night was waiting for a heart transplant, which he has fortunately since received. A group of girls posing for the camera had liver transplants, and one of them a brain tumor.
I didn’t realize what an impact these children would have had on me. They have a strength in their eyes that I had never seen before. It’s incredibly beautiful, inspiring but at the same time immensely sad. The psychology behind sickness is something I have found interesting for quite some time. Emotionally and psychologically I cannot imagine what these kids are going through as a result of their illnesses. The reliance on medication, medication withdrawal, lack of social life, toll on family, as well as academic challenges which worsen when so much school is missed.
I have a personal connection to stories like this, and the reasons are personal. For eight years my younger sister was prescribed antidepressants for depression. During this period the drug had a profound effect on her emotional stability and exuberated her illness, ironically transforming it into something more chronic and making it more difficult for her to overcome her depression. The experience shaped my particular interests in photography specifically the issues I’m drawn to. Having someone you love stunted by illness is a difficult thing to witness. I hope this series of photographs captures the “child” and the “old soul” within these teens who have just began their life and lack so many things we take for granted.
JESSICA EARNSHAW was born in 1983 and is a Canadian photographer based in Brooklyn, New York.
She studied Documentary Filmmaking at The Gulf Islands Film and Television School in British Columbia, Canada, & Film Production at Concordia University in Montreal. She graduated in the 2010/11 Documentary Photography and Photojournalism Program at The International Centre of Photography in New York.
Jessica worked for several years in the documentary film and television in Canada before pursing a career in documentary photography. In 2010, she was the recipient of the Eastwood Onley Gallery Young Photographer’s Award and was exhibited in a number of solo shows in Vancouver where she raised $10,000 to go to school in New York. In 2011, Jessica was exhibited in the ICP graduate show in New York. Jessica’s long-term projects explore issues of birth, death and family.
Currently, Jessica is interning with TIME Magazine and runs their LightBox. She also assists Michael Kamber at the Bronx Documentary Centre part-time.
JESSICA EARNSHAW
Brooklyn, New York
+1 347-684-0802
earnshaw.jess@gmail.com
www.jessicaearnshaw.com
EDUCATION
2011 Documentary Photography and Photojournalism Program
International Center of Photography, New York City, NY
2004 Film Production Program
Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada
2002 Independent Media Producers Program
Gulf Islands Film and Television School, BC, Canada
PHOTOGRAPHY
2011 Event Coordinator (Photo Exhibit)
"Ten Years After Nine Eleven: Searching For a 21st Century Landscape"
powerHouse Arena, Brooklyn, NY, USA
www.socialdocumentary.net
2009-2010 Photography Assistant
Ed Araquel
Vancouver, BC, Canada
www.edaraquel.com
2008 Photography Assistant
Kallberg Studios
Vancouver, BC, Canada
www.kallbergstudios.com
2000-2002 Photography Assistant
Photographs by Modigliani
Victoria, BC, Canada
PHOTO INTERNSHIPS
2011 Intern
TIME Magazine
Manhattan, NY, USA
www.time.com
2011 Photo Intern - Research & Sponsorship
Michael Kamber / Bronx Documentary Centre
Bronx, NY, USA
http://blog.bronxdoc.org
www.kamberphoto.com
2010-2011 Photo Intern/Assistant
Gabrielle Revere
Brooklyn, NY, USA
www.gabriellerevere.com
2010 Inventory Project Intern
The International Center of Photography Museam Collections
Manhattan, NY, USA
www.icp.org
2009 Editorial Photographer
Vancouver Magazine, Western Living, VM Eating and Drinking Guide
Vancouver, BC, Canada
www.vanmag.com
www.westernlivingmagazine.com
SELECTED EXHIBITS
"I'll Shoot You: Documentary Portraiture"
2010 Eastwood Onley Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2010 Beaumont Studios, Vancouver, Canada
2010 Studio 16 1/2, Vancouver, Canada
2010 The Cobalt, Vancouver, Canada
2010 Radha Eatery, Vancouver, Canada
AWARDS
2010 Eastwood Onley Gallery Young Photographers Award
FILM & TV
2010 Researcher / Assistant Story Producer
6 Degrees of TV / Documentary series / Force Four Entertainment
Vancouver, BC, Canada
2010 Archive Assistant
6 Degrees of TV / Documentary series / Force Four Entertainment
Vancouver, BC, Canada
2009 Documentary Researcher
Show Development / Omni Film Production Ltd.
Vancouver, BC, Canada
2009 Production Coordinator
Fat Lab / Lifestyle Pilot / The Eyes Television Production Ltd.
Vancouver, BC, Canada
2009 Documentary Researcher
Ghostly Encounters / Documentary Series / Platt Productions
Toronto, ON, Canada
2008-2009 Documentary Researcher / Assistant to Story Producer
Tube Tales: TV's Real Stories / Documentary Series / Force Four Entertainment
Vancouver, BC, Canada
2007-2008 Head Researcher / Assistant to Director (Vic Sarin)
Shine of Rainbows / Feature Film / Sepia Films
Vancouver, BC, Canada
2006-2007 Story Coordinator / Documentary Researcher
In Dreams / Documentary Series / Platt Productions
Toronto, ON, Canada
2006-2007 Story Coordinator / Documentary Researcher
You Should Be Dancing / Documentary Special / Platt Productions
Toronto, ON, Canada
2004-2005 Production Assistant
Degrassi: The Next Generation / TV Series / Epitome Pictures
Instant Star / TV Series / Epitome Pictures
Toronto, ON, Canada
SKILLS
Extensive experience: Image re-touching, archival ink jet printing
Lightroom, Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, Photo Mechanics, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel
Canon 5D II, Canon 7D, Medium Format, 35mm
B&W Darkroom processing and printing
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
2006 Co-founder / Researcher
Aim Abroad - Aid Organization based in Faridabad India
2005 Volunteer Aid Worker
Hands on Phi Phi - Cleanup crew after 2005 Thailand tsunami