Violences Invisibles
According to a survey by Amnesty International, one out of five women in Switzerland has been subjected to non-consensual sexual acts, and more than one out of ten has experiences sex against her will*. While asking the women in my inner circle if these statistics concerned them, it was sadly no big surprise to see that many of them experienced sexual violence, and I decided to dedicate a work to their stories.
As a photographer, in addition of being a women, I feel it is essential to adress this problematic and systemic social issue because, as the author, curtor and photography theorist Ariella Azoulay has said: The absence of visual imagery of violence against women has contributed for years to society’s ignorance - and even more so to its tolerance - of this type of violence.
The project is featured in a self published book, alterning portraits of sexual assault survivors, texts describing impossible images based on the suvivors testimonies, and images of objects related to the testimonies.
* Results of a representative survey conducted between 16 March and 15 April 2019 in Switzerland among some 4,500 women (aged 16 and over) by the research institute gfs.bern on behalf of Amnesty International.
“The “Invisible Violence” project is terrifying in its simplicity. The simplicity is to be found in the aesthetics of the images, the proposed hanging and the design of the project. Also, the artist did not require to go very far to seek out testimonies, which confirms the need for this work. As Aline Bovard Rudaz points out, in the words of Ariella Azoulay, the lack of images of violence against women contributes to the tolerance of these acts. There’s a beautiful coherence and respect for others in this work. Every detail has been thought through. It allows people to emerge from anonymity, without the need to be confronted with the individuality of their stories, thanks to the strength of the collective.”
Exhibition view by Léonard Rossi, Prix Photoforum 2021, Biel, Bienne
Exhibition view by Léonard Rossi, Prix Photoforum 2021, Biel, Bienne
Exhibition view by Léonard Rossi, Prix Photoforum 2021, Biel, Bienne
Publication Violences Invisibles, Self-Published