Lea Luiz de Oliveira, Seina Baalouche & Callie Rose Petal
ONE OF THEM
A multimedia exhibition about surviving trauma, transformative justice and healing.
These different art projects have been created in collaboration but the photographs and audio testimonies are independent of each other .
PHOTOGRAPHY - FILM
by Léa Luiz de Oliveira
The experimental film “I don’t want to be one of them” explores the difficulty of coming to terms with the identity construct of 'victim' or 'survivor' as it pertains to abuse and violence. The stigma attached to this reality has a big impact on the way we define ourselves after surviving trauma. Lea wanted to use this poem and visual work as a way to show the healing power of releasing one is not alone in this journey,freeing oneself from the weight of misguided guilt that many survivors experience. The photographs are part of an ongoing project inviting survivors of abuse and trauma to have their portrait taken as a way to transgress the shame many of us experience. We wanted to collectively show that we should not have to hide or keep our experiences a secret anymore, the act of having your portrait in an exhibition becoming a cathartic healing tool. We believe and hope that by sharing our own trauma, we can empower others to process theirs. The exhibition process had us question who is allowed to share their story in our current society and how we can create safer spaces for more diverse stories continuing this project forward. Complimentary to the audio testimonies who invited other people to share their stories, the photographs are a way to put faces on a reality that so many people experience. It took courage for everybody involved to take part in this project and we are so grateful for their contributions.
I don’t want to be One of them:
Directed by Léa Luiz de Oliveira
Music by Adrien Soyer
One of them Photography Project:
Photography by Léa Luiz de Oliveira
Colours and Edit of the photographs by Laura Prieto Martin
Cw: Trauma, Sexual Violence
AUDIO TESTIMONIES
by Seina Baalouche
Seina Baalouche presents a series of audio testimonies exploring these themes of trauma, healing and forgiveness through anonymous interviews of people from both sides of the spectrum of abuse. People who have been harmed, people who have caused harm or both. In these one voice intimate and anonymous testimonies the participants reflect on their personal story of abuse, their actions and their healing journey.
“When recording these interviews I felt privileged that the participants bravely shared with me their experience and intimate thoughts. I hope that the audience will listen to these testimonies as if they were listening to a friend or someone they know to maybe reflect on their own stories.”
These edited interviews are available via a QR code. It will allow the audience to have access to the whole story but also to be able to stop listening at any time. This exhibition was created to give a voice to people, showing that healing is possible in order to break the circle of abuse. We want our audience to feel that they are not alone and that talking about these taboo subjects is possible. A huge thank you to everyone who participated in the project and shared their story.
Directed by Seina Baalouche
Co-produced by Seina Baalouche and Léa luiz De Oliveira
Special thanks to Adrien Soyer and James Rutherford for the audio mixing.
Cw: Trauma, Sexual Violence, Violence. (Some voices have been modified.)
LIVE PERFORMANCE AND NOISE CREATION
by lonely carp
IF ONLY HANDS COULD SPEAK
Ovid’s Metamorphosis contains the story of Philomela, who is raped by a Thracian king, Tereus, who then cuts out her tongue to suppress her speech. Philomela proceeds to weave a tapestry depicting the act, thus exposing Tereus before she is transformed into a nightingale: a songbird capable of beautiful melody. In this way, Philomela overcomes her censorship through creative practice, and manages to break through the boundaries placed upon her by her oppressor. lonely carp’s latest live art piece ‘IF ONLY HANDS COULD SPEAK’ accompanies her latest orchestral noise EP (ARCHITECT OF MY ABUSE) and incorporates these mythemes, in order to express what it has meant for her to overcome her own abuse and sexual trauma.
Live art performance & noise by Callie Rose Petal (lonely carp)
Cw: gore, flashing imagery, loud noise, partial nudity.