Photography for mental health
Donation protected
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Every single one of us is affected by mental health but because of outdated stigmas, it doesn't have nearly enough funding or support so I am self publishing this book to raise money to support the Self-Esteem Team, an organization that directly helps young people to navigate mental health from the start.
During the first lockdown of the pandemic, separated from family and friends, fearful of the new virus, watching the Black Lives Matters and the Transgender equality movements fighting for their lives in the streets and seeing national headlines about nursing homes suffering the brunt of Covid deaths...I struggled with the depth and consistency of bad news and what felt like our world falling apart.
One afternoon, I took a photograph of my neighbor's child while she was playing, wearing a silly mask hanging from her face. This young, blonde, blue eyed little girl was wearing the lower half of a black older man's face and the distortion and contrast sparked a deeper conversation. It became an outlet, using a sense of humour and my camera to tackle the darkness.
The more of these photos that I took, the more I saw the juxtapositions of age, race, gender and a potential to shift perspectives of identity. To give people an opportunity to step into each other's shoes or see behind each other's masks.
In a time when the idea of wearing a mask for the sake of protecting our community around us has become a global, political debate, these images turn the questions upon ourselves and spark necessary conversations about identity and how we judge one another and ourselves.
The conversations that have come from taking these photos have been eyeopening and profound in ways I couldn't have imagined. I really hope we reach the goal and get to print so that these conversations can continue in your own homes....
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
**Donations £50 and above will receive a copy of the book :)
Organizer
Chiabella James
Organizer
England
