THIS ISN'T A STORY ABOUT YOU
This Isn't A Story About You was first displayed May 9-15th of 2018. It was shown in a combined senior thesis show with Paige DeWald's "Fragments of R.E.M" at 1045 Gallery on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo, New York. There are only two copies of the book made, but can be ordered upon request.
It is a black and white film based project using mixture of 35mm and 120mm film. This project takes a look in to memory and how significant events can impact all aspects of one's life. It deals with the aftermath of trauma and how we, as humans, overcome these difficult events.
The distressed look on the 120mm film images comes from altering the negative its self before the scanning process. Some of the altering include: scratching, drawing, bleach, and fire.
Installation photo from the opening night of This Isn't A Story About You.
Inspiration
Sadly, the inspiration for this book came from my own experiences. I did not realize what this project was going to be about when I first started making it, but as I continued to develop the project I slowly realized that for the sake of my own healing I needed to tell the story. A big part of that was the Silence Breakers. TIME Magazine let out a beautiful article with an even more beautiful video talking about sexual assault
The blank spaces
In the middle of the book there are two blank pages. Now, most publishing companies would disagree with this move since leaving two blank pages makes things more expensive. My initial thought was to add an image that represented my "trauma." After meeting with artist, Patrice Helmar, and talking to my Professor, Yola Monakhov-Stockon, they helped me realize that trauma is different for everyone. The blank space is there for interpertation of the viewer.
The upside down
After the blank space the books turns upside. I am not going to tell you why. I will tell you that what you do with the upside down is up to you. You can keep the book the normal way and look at everything upside down, or you could turn the book upside to make everything appear as if it is right. Either way, think about why.
