Domestic Violence project

CREATED BY A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIM

Honorable Mention Budapest International Foto Awards 2022

Fine Art / Portrait

Official Selection Tokyo International Foto Awards 2022

“There is a crack ... in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” - Leonard Cohen

Derived from the song, “Anthem”, the title of my project is intended to convey the need for hope in the wake of adversity. Rather than stigmatizing the “victims” of domestic violence, it’s my aim to emphasize their strength, courage, and humility as a means of impacting those wishing to transform tragedy into triumph. The catharsis attained from my own healing journey empowered me with the volition to infuse art with a message of hope and transcendence. In conceptualizing a means to communicate this sentiment through a visually poetic metaphor, I discovered Kintsugi.

Kintsugi is a concept in Japanese philosophy that speaks to the idea of embracing imperfections in life and seeing those imperfections as unique and beautiful.

This concept has been taken a step further and applied to the portraits. The idea is to showcase the beauty that can be found in individuals who have suffered from domestic abuse, and the strength that it takes to overcome such adversity. It seemed the ideal method for displaying a fractured life, reassembled with the healing thread of positive intention. Domestic abuse can leave deep emotional and physical scars, leaving individuals feeling broken, worthless, and oftentimes invisible.

But this photographic art project seeks to highlight the courage and resilience of these survivors while celebrating their beauty, strength, and healing.

It is important to note that these art project doesn’t seek to glorify domestic abuse or its effects. Rather, the intention is to bring attention to the issue of domestic abuse and to empower survivors by showing them as beautiful, strong, and resilient individuals who refuse to be defined by their past experiences.

Relative to the degree of trauma revealed by each subject, I disassemble the portrait accordingly, so that it may be pieced back together with decorative gold. The final result is large archival prints.

The preliminary work on this project has already yielded success and fueled me to expand upon the original vision. In working with the subjects, it’s my intention to connect them to the place of acknowledgment for their journey and hopefully facilitate their own catharsis and closure. I wish to enlist the help of domestic violence and human rights organizations to promote and disseminate this work. The hope is to reach those who will benefit and galvanize those who wish to implement change.

Contact: gala@galinasemenova.com

+1 619 955 3455