PROJECT UNBREAKABLE.
Photographs: What their RAPIST said.
The photographer is a nineteen years old college student who has a dream of changing the world.
Her name is Grace Brown.
And this is Project Unbreakable.
She created this photography project in October 2011. She has been working with the survivors of sexual assault, photographing them holding a poster with a quote from their attacker. No back-story, no needless graphic details.. just words.
She simply started by photographing the people she knew and at that point, she had no idea how powerful this project could be.
Since then, she has been receiving a hundreds of email thanking her for what she was doing. Survivors will contacting her, asking her to photograph them, and sending the images of themselves if they live too far away.
She then realizes, with her camera, she has the ability to make a huge difference. In the past, people used to think sexual abuse is shame and they kept quiet even if it happens on themselves. Now, people are finally letting go and taking the power back of the words that were once used to against them.
She do that for every man and every women who has ever been a survivor of sexual abuse. "These are our stories, and we are unbreakable," she mentioned.
She has photographed over a hundred people, received over eight hundreds submissions.
TIME magazine has also named it one of the top 30 Tumblr blogs to follow.
She's not doing this for herself; but advocate to help the people to express the words that they have been wanting to say it out loud.
Grace Brown's thoughts and photographs simply caught my attention.
But it is the derivation of this project that inspires me.
It is a combination of her observation(experiences) and the stories that being shared by her friends.
She lives in New York City and has always been surrounded by survivors of sexual assault.
She experienced the catcalls and heard of the nasty things that said by some guys on the street in NY.
However, it is a self-referential story that her close friend shared which particularly affected her and forced her to realize how common this tragedy was.
Our observation and the self-referential stories from our social circles are unwittingly affecting our thinking.
From Grace's project, I realize that creativity can actually be found by observing and collecting other people's history: their happiness, their pain, and even their past that haunting them.
What makes Project Unbreakable different are the quotes. The act is despicable, no doubt, but physical wounds heal. It is the words that leave the scars no one can see.
The photographs are reminders that the words and the deeds are never forgotten. Each placard held represents a small act of justice. Held up to the light, each quote stuns with its audacity, with its evil, with its sheer creepiness.
As you read them, you judge it for what it is. Victimization in words.
Grace Brown's step was huge. She uses photography to speak for the victims.
I was surprised at the moment I found out the photographs that she captured for this project.
I think it is a very brave decision for her to take the first step to look for the sexual survivors at the first place; and it is also a very brave decision for those survivors who chose to be expressive and understand that they are not alone.
She creates a way in helping the victims to heal from what they have been through.
We create, because we want it to be better.
References
Project Unbreakable [Image]. (2012). Retrieved from http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m41rdnASCW1r65rllo1_1280.jpg
Project Unbreakable [Image]. (2012). Retrieved from http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m41r1sZNxZ1r65rllo1_1280.jpg
Project Unbreakable [Image]. (2012). Retrieved from http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m41qcpDhMz1r65rllo1_1280.jpg
Project Unbreakable [Image]. (2012). Retrieved from http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m05z0fRM1R1r65rllo1_1280.jpg
Project Unbreakable [Image]. (2012). Retrieved from http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvafubxVZh1r65rllo1_1280.jpg
Project Unbreakable [Image]. (2012). Retrieved from http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m06t7aBky51r65rllo1_1280.jpg
Project Unbreakable [Image]. (2012). Retrieved from http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m02lgiaysp1r65rllo1_1280.jpg
Project Unbreakable [Image]. (2012). Retrieved from http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzvegdIJLg1r65rllo1_1280.jpg
Project Unbreakable [Image]. (2012). Retrieved from http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz1jgyD6TU1r65rllo1_1280.jpg
Project Unbreakable [Image]. (2012). Retrieved from http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyzouyIwcy1r65rllo1_1280.jpg
Project Unbreakable [Image]. (2012). Retrieved from http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxhqvvLcHm1r65rllo1_1280.jpg
Project Unbreakable [Image]. (2012). Retrieved from http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4z22wrUSM1r65rllo1_1280.jpg
Project Unbreakable [Image]. (2012). Retrieved from
Project Unbreakable [Image]. (2012). Retrieved from http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m13y0yAmBb1r65rllo1_1280.jpg
Project Unbreakable [Image]. (2012). Retrieved from http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3f048mIdc1r65rllo1_1280.jpg
Project Unbreakable [Image]. (2012). Retrieved from http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0zpupiKFJ1r65rllo1_1280.jpg
Project Unbreakable [Image]. (2012). Retrieved from http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3f01hJjlU1r65rllo1_1280.jpg
Project Unbreakable [Image]. (2012). Retrieved from http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2sit2lH0B1r65rllo1_1280.jpg
Project Unbreakable [Image]. (2012). Retrieved from http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3eohg8hhB1r65rllo1_1280.jpg
Project Unbreakable [Image]. (2012). Retrieved from http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2sj3dPQBu1r65rllo1_1280.jpg
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