The source of my childhood trauma is violence. It ultimately comes down to one act, by one man, that occurred over a short period of time. This one isolated incident has left a lasting imprint on my memory and forced us to leave our home in North Wales when I was 5.
We knew the man well. He lived directly across the road from our home and he would spend time with my family. In hindsight, we didn’t know the man at all - not to his full extent. This one act of violence has affected me for the rest of my life, but the person responsible took their own. I used to feel intense hate for this man. For what he did to me and for how I will always be. But as I grew up I began to think about what would drive someone to do what he did, and it became clear that, more than likely, he had been exposed to his own trauma.
Now, I am sympathetic.
This project explores the lasting impact of childhood trauma and how it manifests later in adult life. The images are a combination of personal family photos from before the incident took place, and newly created images in response to my personal feelings and memories of what we went through.
This project was exhibited at the Swindon Photo Festival Viewfinder Exhibition 2021 and the University of Brighton Graduate Exhibition 2021.
