East Van captures on film. | Photo courtesy of Jon Guido Bertelli and Diego Bastianut

Italian-Canadian poet Diego Bastianutti and Italian photographer Jon Guido Bertelli have combined their works to shine a spotlight on the stark contrasts of Vancouver. They have focused on illustrating the humanity that revolves around the Downtown Eastside and the stories of its inhabitants. The exhibit opens on Sept. 10 at the Italian Cultural Centre – Il Centro.

The Source: When and how did this project start?

Diego Bastianutti: In 2011, I met Jon Guido Bertelli at one of his exhibits in Vancouver and we hit it off right away. We discovered a shared interest in the Vancouver community of the Downtown Eastside. We both had touched first-hand the human texture of that community: we had met, shared meals and listened to stories that had brought low so many of the individuals living there. A joint exhibit was the inevitable result.

Exploring the Downtown Eastside

T.S.: The Downtown Eastside is either perceived as a celebration of diversity and genuine local culture or a neighbourhood that harbours low lifes. Where do you stand in this ongoing debate? Do you think the originality of the Downtown Eastside should be preserved?

D.B.: We all tend to pre-judge individuals by their dress, demeanour or colour of their skin before we even attempt to find the reality beyond the cover. I was as guilty as anyone else until I made the effort to meet and talk to some of the Downtown Eastside residents. That is when I saw myself in the mirror of their faces. I saw how easy it is for anyone to fall on hard times, to lose one’s job, home and family as a result of depression, of a terrible accident or simply being unable to keep up with our fast-paced world. But most of all, I was struck by the stories of First Nations women, who had been denied their language, their culture, their name, their very identity. And yet they all were able to maintain a sense of dignity, a sense of belonging to a greater and more enduring reality.

T.S.: What did you learn about East Vancouver that you didn’t know before starting to work on the exhibit?

Jon Guido Bertelli: I spent a couple of years working on and off on this project in the Downtown Eastside, meeting, learning and discovering the beauty of each person that we regretfully more than often look down on. All the people I met in the Downtown Eastside enriched my life in different ways. I was also glad to discover how many people, both young and old from all walks of life and ethnicities who are giving assistance and a true helping hand to the people of the Downtown Eastside. I met ex-addicts who are helping to restore the dignity of those still enslaved by drug addiction. I believe we should really put an effort on trying to better understand why people end up taking drugs as a way to cope with the pain they feel.

T.S.: Can you give an example of a story from the Downtown Eastside that you came across while working on the exhibit?

J.G.B.: One day, while photographing old hotels and taverns, a friendly voice behind me asked, “Good afternoon Sir. How are you?” It was Alex, my first contact in the Downtown Eastside. Alex came as a young kid to Canada from Holland, served in the Canadian army and worked as a technician for Polaroid cameras. Digital photography changed Alex’s life. He was not able to keep up with the new technology and found himself out of work and soon after that, living in the streets.

A marriage of contrasts

T.S.: What was the most challenging part of the project?

D.B.: The emotional cost of writing poetry. I felt the pain, the humiliation, the horror and the hopes each individual had felt. I had to identify physically and emotionally with what I wrote about them. I would emerge from these writing sessions completely drained. I had descended into a hell.

T.S.: Is combining poetry and photos a way to outline contrast?

J.G.B.: This project opened the door for collaboration with my good friend Diego Bastianutti, a great and sensitive poet, to strengthen through the marriage of my images and Diego’s beautiful poems the message we both strongly believe in. A message of hope, dignity and understanding.

For more information about the exhibit, please visit www.italianculturalcentre.ca.