Introduction
Domestic Violence And Abuse
Domestic violence and abuse in any capacity are not acceptable. As human beings, we seem to shy away from talking about our experiences due to the pressure inflicted on us daily. Pretending everything is wonderful at home when in fact, it is not. This dissertation and body of work are based on the part of the aftermath of this subject being triggers, flashbacks and moving forward. It may have some content which is disturbing to the viewer; however, after doing the research, there is no easy way of documenting it other than having hard facts which are true to life.
Being out of the situation and relationship is more frightening than being in it, so some decide it’s easier to stay, ‘better the devil, you know. It takes a lot of strength to remain even for the children. Still, it takes so much more to walk or run away from a person who causes harm, whether emotionally, physically, mentally or psychologically.
Your vulnerability is at the highest level possible; you work in ‘the fight or flight mode’ and wonder how on earth will you survive and look after your children after so long living this way.
With tremendous strength, courage, and bravery, you can stop not only for our generation but also for generations to come worldwide, having a powerful ripple effect. Every age, culture, and gender deserves from every walk of life to live frightened to speak out, word will travel fast, and the minority of human beings who inflicts pain on others, we would hope, would be brought to justice. Well, that is the general idea anyway, only it is not an easy task. But anything is achievable if we believe it is.
From victims’ point of view, it can take many years to recover from their previous experiences, even if they choose to undertake counselling and therapy. As for the children, they are entirely traumatised and never recover from their early life experiences. The deep psychological scars embedded within children’s memories remain irreversible and remain with them for the rest of their natural lives.
Within all forms of art and photography, Domestic Violence and abuse have been produced in both colour and black and white. Historically colour is used within fine art paintings, black and white in drawings, and as time travels through the centuries, the choice of this varies. Whether a piece of fine art such as a photograph is in the medium of colour or black and white, each has its way of creating an impact which is appealing to the eye of the viewer.