The Shortlist of the Alfred Fried Photography Award 2014
IN/VISIBLE
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 travelled to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Uganda, Nepal and Cambodia over the last year to portray and interview female survivors of acid and fire attacks. My approach was to closely document the daily life of one woman in each of the six country in order to show what it means to live with the stigma of an outcast.
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.
Chantheoun from Cambodia, Flavia from Uganda, Neehaari from India, Renuka from Nepal, Farida from Bangladesh and Nusrat from Pakistan, who all have experienced their own tragedy, allowed me to share intimate moments in their lives and showed me what real heroism means and to be at peace with their tragic fate. The photographs here shown are a small selection of five of them, showing their daily life, each of their struggle and their strength and determination to move on.
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 travelled to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Uganda, Nepal and Cambodia over the last year to portray and interview female survivors of acid and fire attacks. My approach was to closely document the daily life of one woman in each of the six country in order to show what it means to live with the stigma of an outcast.
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.
Chantheoun from Cambodia, Flavia from Uganda, Neehaari from India, Renuka from Nepal, Farida from Bangladesh and Nusrat from Pakistan, who all have experienced their own tragedy, allowed me to share intimate moments in their lives and showed me what real heroism means and to be at peace with their tragic fate. The photographs here shown are a small selection of five of them, showing their daily life, each of their struggle and their strength and determination to move on.
