Winners of the Alfred Fried Photography Award 2014
IN/VISIBLE PORTRAITS
It is their scars which draw attention to them. They are openly stared at or eyed discretely. Some people look away immediately because they feel uncomfortable or want to forget what they have just seen. It is easier for society not to acknowledge those who are different, to ignore them and thus to make them invisible. Therefore, it is not only the visible scars from which survivors of fire and acid attacks and accidents are suffering for their whole life. Above all, it is other people’s reactions to their disfigurements which are pushing them to the edge of society.
For my long-term project IN/VISIBLE I traveled to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Uganda, Nepal and Cambodia over the last year to portray and interview 48 female survivors of acid and fire attacks.
The women I visited are just a few of the many that are attacked with acid or fire to purposely disfigure or kill them. Officially there are around 1500 acid attacks reported worldwide every year. The majority of which are women. The number of unreported cases is estimated to be much higher.
With the portrait series I wanted to give them the opportunity to present themselves as individuals beyond the collective stigma of being branded; I wanted to give them a face again, to make them visible. The neutral black backdrop was supposed to abstract from the social environment and to give them an atmosphere of security and a special – if celebratory – framework. A framework, in which they felt able to present themselves and pose as they felt right rather than to be presented as a tragic victim, but rather show their inner strength and peace they have gained after all their struggle and pain they've gone through.
It is their scars which draw attention to them. They are openly stared at or eyed discretely. Some people look away immediately because they feel uncomfortable or want to forget what they have just seen. It is easier for society not to acknowledge those who are different, to ignore them and thus to make them invisible. Therefore, it is not only the visible scars from which survivors of fire and acid attacks and accidents are suffering for their whole life. Above all, it is other people’s reactions to their disfigurements which are pushing them to the edge of society.
For my long-term project IN/VISIBLE I traveled to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Uganda, Nepal and Cambodia over the last year to portray and interview 48 female survivors of acid and fire attacks.
The women I visited are just a few of the many that are attacked with acid or fire to purposely disfigure or kill them. Officially there are around 1500 acid attacks reported worldwide every year. The majority of which are women. The number of unreported cases is estimated to be much higher.
With the portrait series I wanted to give them the opportunity to present themselves as individuals beyond the collective stigma of being branded; I wanted to give them a face again, to make them visible. The neutral black backdrop was supposed to abstract from the social environment and to give them an atmosphere of security and a special – if celebratory – framework. A framework, in which they felt able to present themselves and pose as they felt right rather than to be presented as a tragic victim, but rather show their inner strength and peace they have gained after all their struggle and pain they've gone through.