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Anatexis

Anatexis
At the age of five, I was sexually abused by an adult. He was a family friend. We were alone in the room when he started touching me between my legs. I was not raped, but that day a catastrophe happened inside me. I started blaming myself. I told my parents about the incident, but they decided it was only in my imagination. It would be unbelievable that a respected person by the family, who had children and had high education could do something indecent with a child. So, he went unpunished. Feelings of fear, shame, and guilt forced me not to talk about that embarrassing topic anymore. Now I decided to recall that experience and to accept my trauma.
I use a photo archive, self-portraits, symbols. I set fire to his portraits, poured them with lead, put them in ice, washed them. By destroying his portraits, I got over his presence, the memory of him and his influence on my life.
According to the WHO, 1 in 5 women and 1 in 13 men had been victims of sexual harassment in their childhood.