Damnatis Femina

Technical

The photo was created using eyeliner for the texts, natural light from two skylights, and editing to black and white with increased contrast. Additionally, a thin layer of texture from an old wall was added to give the photo more strength. EXIF 1/125s, f/3,2, ISO500, 70mm

The Story

This lady was present at one of my exhibitions. When she saw certain layered photos depicting depression and anorexia, tears rolled down her cheeks. I inquired about her story; after speaking with her at length, it turned out that she is manic-depressive and has also struggled with anorexia. She wanted to be photographed by me.
Reflecting on my own experience with depression, this image was created for her. Partly due to the fact that I had relied heavily on my friends, I - almost by chance - learned to express myself and emerged from my depression. I learned to write things off of myself. When I was depressed, no matter how well-intentioned my friends' words were, I could only see the negative in them. Symbolically, for this photo, I chose an eye that is damaged and suffering, causing her to lose balance in her vision.
Literally, with this idea, I sent the following to her:
"The texts are all negative words. I tell everyone that expressing or writing helps. You can write things down or write things off, but it's pointless if you permanently write on your body, then you always keep those negative things with you."

Someone responded on Facebook with: "Depression is also called 'inwardly directed anger,'" which I had not heard or read before. But I find it a beautiful description for this photo