Justice through expression of art
Victims of violence tell stories through travelling photography exhibit
Jane, a woman in her 40s from central Newfoundland, doesn’t describe herself as an artist, but as someone with a lifelong interest in art, before it was taken from her.
She becomes emotional as she explains how she recently began to reclaim abandoned aspects of her personality, through an art exhibit giving survivors of violence a voice via photography.
“This project has really let me dig deep and see who I really am,” she says.
Jane is one of 15 participants in Photovoice, an exhibit organized by The Journey Project, a local organization offering pressure-free legal navigation support to anyone who has experienced intimate-partner violence or sexual violence. Now in its third year, Photovoice offers participants individual support and the opportunity to attend workshops with local photographers as they create a photo representation of their personal story centred around a general theme.
This year’s exhibit is “TRANSFORMATION: A Photo Journey,” and the participating artists have each provided their own interpretation through photography. Some have included a written piece, but it wasn’t mandatory. Some photographers have chosen to remain anonymous.
“A lot of times the legal system is not an avenue they can take, and control over the narrative and what’s being told is not something survivors usually get,” says Ashley Macdonald, legal support navigator with The Journey Project and Photovoice participant. “Usually they’re subpoenaed to come in to testify, or told they can’t talk to the media about things connected to the case. We’ve allowed room for them to express themselves in a way that’s meaningful. Perhaps legal justice wasn’t achieved; this gives them a chance to transform what justice means to them.”
Some of the participants chose to do self-portraits. Many used natural landscapes as a metaphor: sun-lit horizons, a tall tree, a quiet stream, crashing waves, and still water. “Shine,” a piece by an anonymous contributor from Labrador, features a vivid blue, expansive sky reflected in a black, still pond.
“Now I’m the light,” the artist writes in their accompanying poem.
Jane’s piece is called “The View From My Windshield,” and represents what she calls a transfer-mation: the transfer of her focus from her personal struggles to caring for ailing parents. It’s a series of four photos taken on a wintry highway in various shades of light as she rides in a vehicle behind an ambulance.
“I drove out to St. John’s behind the ambulance with my mother inside,” she says.
Her mother underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumour, just months after her father’s cancer surgery. She remained in hospital for more than a month.
“As these 33 days unfolded, my view became clearer,” Jane says. “I transferred my energy to more precious things in life. I changed my focus to what and who is important to me.”
Having participated in Photovoice for all three years, Jane says it has helped her rediscover herself on several levels, showing her own resilience and worth and resparking her interest in some of the things she once loved, like art.
“I believe I can overcome,” Jane says of her struggle. “I’ve gone back and found pieces of me that were lost along the way.”
“TRANSFORMATION: A Photo Journey” will be on display at the St. John’s Farmers' Market Thursday, April 4 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. It will travel to Grand Fallswindsor April 10-17, Happy Valley Goose Bay April 12-13 and Corner Brook April 1926, before returning to St. John’s. More details are available on The Journey Project’s Facebook page.