Megan Bowers-Vette on The Us Project

How did the project come about?

The Us Project came about from just wanting to do more with my photographic practice, really. Learning about how much power photography can have in the world left me feeling that what I was shooting was just a load of crap really. We can all look cool on Instagram and have nice pics but what’s it actually doing for anybody. So then I realised this is what I could do, because it’s what I have personal experience in [sexual abuse]. It’s not nice but I’m open enough and brave enough, so I thought, “Let’s give it a go.” I have also always been told I photograph my subjects respectfully and make them feel at ease and trusting of me, so I thought, in general, that I had the skill set to carry this out with beauty and respect.

Unsually, in this situation, all the participants in the project were happy to be identified, why do you think this was the case?

I personally am over anonymous projects around this subject. In my mind it only perpetuated the idea that there’s something to be ashamed of, or if you have been through sexual assault, that its something you should keep hidden from the people around you. I think: “Stuff that. What is there to be ashamed of?” It wasn’t my actions, it was those of another, and if anyone should feel shame, it isn’t me. I was going to put my face in it from the beginning so I wanted others who were willing to do the same. So right from the beginning I was attracting people who are part of a different future and yes, they are brave. From the beginning there has been a little mantra we have all embraced: “Show your face, Say your name, Speak your Truth.” It’s been a bit of a little slogan for the project participants.

How many of the 50 subjects featured were men? Was it important to tell these stories?

Four. And yes. Maybe even the most important. It’s so much harder for the men to open up. I don’t know why but all I know is I received dozens of emails from men wanting to tell me what had happened to them but not wanting to be in the project. The four wonderful men in the project are the bravest and their stories are incredibly important.

What’s your hope that people will take from the project?

Reality. #Metoo is great and all but how much do we actually understand now, apart from the magnitude of it? This is a very deeply ingrained issue in society that needs to be fully understood for any kind of real change. Understanding comes from listening. What I want is for people to get the reality of it.

THE US PROJECT HAS BEEN PUBLISHED AS A BOOK, ON USPROJECT.ONLINE AND WILL BE SHOWN IN EXHIBITION FROM MARCH 5-11 AT STUDIO 541 IN MT EDEN, AUCKLAND.