Two months have passed since a devastating earthquake reduced the exotic Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince to a junk yard of scattered stones and cement, dumped human bodies and anemic dreams of prosperity.

Throughout late January and early February the world was shocked by the thousands of tragic images streaming from the Caribbean island which seemed to portray the brutal corruption of the essence of life. It was a desolate scene of jaded existence: 230,000 bodies were unceremoniously dumped into mass graves at the rate of thousands per hour, shanty towns became awash with debaucheries such as theft, rape and people smuggling, 

1.2 million displaced civilians squabbled over meager rations of food and water and the fluid efforts of international aid agencies collapsed under the weight of mismanagement, miscommunication and misunderstanding.

And then, as thousands of journalists from across the world squeezed the tear-ridden rag of sorrow-inducing verbs to a barren and dry duster, media agencies withdrew from the story and the world moved on.

Life in Haiti endures, unpleasantly and with great difficulty, but gradually the basic fibers of life are in their infancy of restoration.

One of the great hopes for the future of Haiti is the resumption of trade and, as the Times reports “rum and refugees apart, Haiti’s biggest export is art.”

Bright, simple and benevolent, Haitian art seems to contradict the abhorrent history of the Caribbean island which has suffered by human greed, which has sewn an unfortunate history of slavery, dictatorships and war, and natural disaster, which has ravaged populations with earthquakes, floods, landslides and disease.

Where the Spanish Inquisition armed medieval artists with a penchant for odious, dank tones descriptive of repugnance and terror, Haitian art has transformed “the most wretched, impoverished country in the Western hemisphere into a bucolic, bountiful Africanesque paradise full of joyful people and magical creatures.”

Bill Bollendorf, avid collector of Haitian art and owner of Galerie Macondo in Pittsburgh, explains that the inspiration for the art is from a desire of escapism: “They live in such misery in real life, but in their fantasy lives they occupy a much better place.” He says.

Many works of Haitian art since the disaster have risen steeply in value as companion pieces from major artists were destroyed and still rest amid the rubble.

However, the earthquake has inspired a new movement as the canvasses of Haitian artists depict their observations and rejoinders to the disaster.

Remaining loyal to the traditional spirit of the art, predominantly the works that have arisen suggest hope, prosperity and regeneration coupled with a blemished acknowledgement of the disaster.

While photojournalists shocked the world with craftily framed depictions of savagery and morbidity, humble Haitian artists have drawn a brush across the incident which is coloured by typical shades of optimism and hope.

Many charity exhibitions have begun to open across the US and it is hoped that in time the walls of art establishments in the UK will also be touched by the soft and quaint spirit of the boldness and affability of Haitian art.