Turning The Page.

Turning the Page is a documentary photo essay developed in Portugal, which focuses on the change in individuals who have been traumatized as a result of violent crimes in the past.

Turning the Page is a documentary photo essay developed in Portugal, which focuses on the change in individuals who have been traumatized as a result of violent crimes in the past. These people, whilst fighting their shame, fear and vulnerability, reached out to a Portuguese NGO for help, APAV (Associação Portuguesa de Apoio à Vítima) – with which I worked in collaboration.

The current project is not only about the violence they suffered. It is essentially about how they are doing now and their trauma. The portraits represent their present and the still life photographs are the representation of these people´s nightmares. Between September and November 2014 I photographed and interviewed approximately 20 people who suffered from domestic violence, human trafficking, stalking, street violence and others who were traumatized by the murder of someone close to them.

Telling the story of these people gave me the opportunity to show their strength and braveness to start a new life. Therefore this work is essentially for other victims that are facing similar problems and are finding hard to ask for help to share their intimate sad reality and to change it.